Vocal Vision
by AnarchySong
Summary: Vocaloids. Individuals with amazing abilities and an affinity for music. When hard-headed and strong-willed Miku Hatsune sets out on her own to find a so-called "Legendary Assassin", what she encounters instead may not be exactly what she was expecting. Join Miku, Luka, Gumi, and the rest of the Vocaloid cast as they embark on an adventure of epic proportions!
1. Teach me Legendary Assassin!

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

*********************************Chapter 1***********************************

There are times in life where one is reminded of the beauty of nature. Truly, it is nothing short of breathtaking to take a walk through the green of the earth and see the forest for the trees, so to speak.

Miku Hatsune was experiencing one such occasion. Surrounded as she was by sunlight, soil, and foliage it was nigh on impossible not to be struck by the absolute tranquility of it all. This forest was a wonder, and the path she currently walked offered an unimpeded panorama of nature's grandeur.

It was wondrous, pristine, glorious. One might even say it was…

"God this is boring" the girl sighed as she trudged yet another tiresome step through the unending trees. "Why am I doing this again?"

"Because" her friend Gumi answered from the other end of the phone call, "you went on for weeks and weeks about how you're going to be the greatest fighter in history and absolutely nothing else would do but being trained by the 'Legendary Assassin' who apparently lives in that forest."

Gumi leaned back in her desk chair, brushing some of her green hair aside. "Protip, he doesn't exist."

"Yes he does. I can feel it." Miku replied, casting a critical eye about the trees around her. "I'm going to find him and he's going to teach me. Then I'm going to-"

"Surpass him and become even greater, cementing your legacy as the most powerful Vocaloid who ever lived." Gumi recited in deadpan. "The plan hasn't changed since the last hundred times you told me."

Alright, so perhaps nature's grandeur wasn't exactly Miku's main focus at the moment. It was understandable. She _was _a sixteen year old girl with a lot on her mind.

Though "a lot" may not exactly be the best descriptor. When one imagines a teenage girl with a lot on her mind they might picture… well, _any_ teenage girl, really. Miku was not just any teenage girl.

Whereas most girls her age might be stressing over boys, makeup, and pop bands, Miku was interested in rather another subject. Namely, fighting.

It may not, of course, have been the most rational or believable thing for a sixteen year old girl to be in a forest looking for a fighting instructor. Then again, Miku didn't find physics to be particularly rational or believable but it seemed to happen anyways. This probably evened it out somehow, she reasoned.

At first glance, the rather unintimidating-looking teenager would not strike one as the fighting type. Rest assured, however, that she would have no problem striking someone if they pissed her off.

Because Miku was indeed the fighting type. She was so much the fighting type that there was nothing else in the world that she would rather do. It was a rather difficult thing to describe. She was fond of explaining it as having the urge to just go out and punch something. Not out of anger, of course, but because it just felt _right_. Perfectly understandable, really.

For whatever inscrutable reason, however, no one she'd ever asked had really agreed with her that some things just needed to be punched. She couldn't fathom why.

It wasn't really something she could put into words anyways. Either you're born a fighter or you aren't, and if her fiery disposition and occasionally confrontational personality were any indication Miku had _definitely_ been born a fighter.

"Geez, it feels like I've been walking forever" Miku complained. Her feet ached and her back was none too happy with her at the moment.

"Well it _has_ been two months" Gumi reminded her. "Kudos on that, by the way. I really thought you'd be back inside a week."

"Wow, glad to know my best friend has so much faith in me" Miku replied sarcastically.

"Oh, please don't mistake that for faith. I lost a bet with my dad over that."

"Well at least somebody thinks a little higher of me."

"You're misunderstanding. We both lost. He thought you'd only last three days."

"Whatever happened to family support?" Miku asked.

"They're my family, not yours" said Gumi, with the hint of a smile. "You're just a moocher who lives off my parents good graces."

"Hey, I can't help being an orphan. It's not my fault if my winning personality convinced your folks to take me in. We're practically sisters."

"Heaven forbid" Gumi said with an eye-roll. "If we were sisters I might have to live with you. Oh wait…"

"Keep talking. You know you love sharing a room with me."

"Speak for yourself. I'm doing wonders with all this extra space."

Their friendly bickering aside, the two girls really were like sisters to one another. Miku may have been an orphan, but the fact did little to discourage her. On the contrary, Miku was quite certain that she preferred the life she had gotten.

This was most likely due to the fact that she wasn't an orphan in the sense that she was put up for adoption by parents without the means to raise her so much as she was abandoned in the streets of a small suburban town at a young age.

How young? That was always everyone's question. The opinions varied, but Miku was always partial to 'somewhere younger than a toddler yet older than the classic 'infant on a doorstep' scenario.'

Her exact age notwithstanding, it was remarkable that she had survived at all. Apparently, however, fate had other plans. The old adage "it takes a town to raise a child" may not be so far off where this young lady is concerned. A town is indeed what raised the girl. Found in the streets by a newlywed couple, it sounds at first like a cookie cutter 'happily ever after.'

Miku never had liked fairy tales. After all, how many people could really just find a child on the street and have the means and knowledge to care for it?

Fortunately for the blue-haired youngster word got around about a poor, helpless little girl left to fend for herself, and a most peculiar thing happened. One after another, in a series of unlikely acts of kindness, families and individuals alike stepped forward to offer their support.

Perhaps it started with a few meals here or a bed to sleep in there, but as time went on it seemed less like the the town was shouldering a temporary burden and more like it had adopted a new daughter.

Who were the parents? It hardly mattered. No one asked and no one really cared. Miku could go her whole life without meeting them for all it concerned her. She had all the family she could ever want.

With so many good Samaritans coming together to lend a hand, one would imagine that it would have been downright _easy_ to do something as simple as raise a child.

Well, it _would_ have been, if not for one small detail:

Miku is a Vocaloid.

"So what exactly does a 'Legendary Assassin' do?" asked Gumi. "I mean aside from the obvious, of course."

"How should I know?" Miku replied, popping her neck as she walked along. "He's a super powerful Vocaloid, he probably does… super powerful Vocaloid type stuff."

Gumi gave another eye roll. "But how 'super powerful' could he be, really? I mean, I've seen you punch trees over and crush rocks… and destroy personal property, come to think of it." She cast a sad look at a pile of scrap in the corner of her room. "I still can't believe you did that to Scrappy."

"What, you mean that gardening robot thing you tried to build? He was asking for it!"

"Yes, well, I suppose his voice module wasn't exactly supposed to curse that emphatically or in so many colorful ways but he was a work in progress!"

There are many answers to the question: "What is a Vocaloid?" A scientific thesis on the subject (and there have been many) may put it into such words as: "Containing a special protein in their cell membranes, Vocaloids are capable of rapid energy transfer from one cell body to the next. This phenomenon originates from the brain's prefrontal cortex, and quickly spreads to…"

And that was where Miku would have completely lost interest. She never had much use for fancy sciency words like "membrane" and "prefrontal."

The general consensus, in any case, is that Vocaloids are just normal people. They just have a more… complete control over the natural forces present inside themselves. Simply put, everyone has energy within them. It's the same with Vocaloids, they just use it for things other than metabolism or bodily functions, given the proper control, of course. To accomplish this, a Vocaloid uses music.

That's where most people got lost. How can one really describe _seeing_ a song? It requires the throwing out of any preconceived notions about what 'music' is right at the start, for it is not music in the same sense that a normal person would comprehend. No, for a Vocaloid music is something simpler, more fundamental… more _primal._

Miku imagined that it was very similar to having a song stuck in your head. It might linger there for minutes, hours, days. Some people believe that's just your brain trying to tell you something. If that was indeed the case, then Vocaloids were the people who were receiving that message.

Many Vocaloids would recommend that a person should think of it as whistling a tune to themselves. A mundane task, provided you can whistle. For a Vocaloid, though, it means nearly unlimited potential. The music they imagine can be used, controlled, and applied. Simply think of a sound, any sound at all, and a Vocaloid can turn it into something amazing, putting the simplest melodies to the greatest of uses.

And that was where Miku usually lost anyone else who was still listening. She couldn't blame them. The process was hardly intuitive after all. As much as science had dissected and studied Vocaloidism, the reasoning behind one of its most fundamental processes remained a complete mystery. While any Vocaloid asked will confirm that all it takes is a song for them to make use of their abilities, one would be hard pressed to find anyone on earth who could tell them _why_.

Still, in spite of the need for a certain suspension of disbelief, few would argue that it is regardless quite a complicated and beautiful art to master. But words alone cannot do it justice. After all, music is not merely something that is heard, but something that is _felt._ It can show you things you've never dreamed of, or make you feel things that you could never put into speech. It can bring you to the utmost peak of happiness, or cast you into the deepest well of despair. It can take you places you didn't think were real, or let you do things that you never imagined were possible; quite literally, in a Vocaloid's case.

Yes, in order to fully and truly understand music's grace, beauty, ferocity, and power as a Vocaloid does, one must hear it with a Vocaloid's ears or perhaps, in some cases, see it through their eyes.

As far as grace, beauty, power and whatever else were concerned, however, Miku didn't really care. She knew she could do it, and that was all that mattered to her. She didn't see the need to over think something that felt as natural as walking, which, come to think of it, she had been doing a lot of lately.

"All I'm saying is that just because a few people think there may be a dangerous person living in those woods it isn't a reason to go looking for him" Gumi said, resting her head on the desk in front of her. "Urban legends get started all the time. It doesn't mean you have to take it as gospel."

"Look, obviously there has to be some truth to it" Miku argued back. "How else would so many people know about him?"

"Because people like to blow things out of proportion" Gumi countered. "He's probably not even real, or worse, he is real and is actually just a murderer or something!"

"You worry too much" Miku replied. "How am I supposed to finish my epic journey of self-discovery if I don't find him?"

She had come to realize that self-discovery is rarely kind to one's legs.

When it had become clear to her that there was no one around that could possibly teach her anything she didn't already know, she had set out to find someone who could. She had heard rumors that a powerful Vocaloid known only as "The Legendary Assassin" lived far away in the very woods that she found herself in now.

She had to admit that the whole thing sounded fishy. It was like something out of a movie. The fact was that in real life there were unfortunately few actual assassins, let alone ones that would be known as 'legendary'. However, Miku had nothing else to go on, and no other plan besides. She knew it was a long shot, but she had tried everything else already.

She groaned inwardly as she reminded herself that it really had been _everything. _The list of her failed endeavors was a long one.

She had tried being a mercenary for hire at the age of twelve. Even she admitted that had been a ridiculous idea. Having never killed anything more than a spider, she was ill-suited for the position, to say the least. Never mind the fact that absolutely no one took her seriously, though they had made no secret of how adorable they all thought it was. That had been the worst part.

There was a period of time where she had attempted work as a private eye. After three weeks had passed and no criminals had been caught, she gave up. It had probably been better in the long run, anyways. She had never gotten the whole hard-boiled detective thing down.

When she was fourteen she had tried to join the army's special ops division. They had turned her away for being too young, telling her to come back when she was older. But waiting until she was eighteen was far too long for Miku and at sixteen years of age she had set out on her own to find herself a teacher worthy of her apprenticeship.

The people back home had begged her not to go. Having stayed with nearly every family on one occasion or another, Miku had become somewhat of a fixture in the community's social structure. Even now, she recalled the tragic look upon Gumi's face when she proposed the idea.

"What!? But why!?" the girl had whined, her ever-present goggles bouncing atop her mop of vibrant green hair. "If you leave I won't have anyone to spend time with! This town will be so boring without you around to stir up trouble!" Funny, Gumi had always told Miku that her penchant for mischief was more of a curse than a blessing, but Miku knew that she wouldn't want to be anywhere else than perpetrating that mischief right alongside her.

Gumi was a Vocaloid too, albeit one with no interest in fighting. Her natural abilities were rather weak, and as such she wasn't exactly combat-ready. Not that she wanted to fight, of course. Gumi was the most peaceful person Miku had ever met.

Fortunately for the green-haired teen there is far more than just one use for a Vocaloid's unique abilities. She used her powers for other things. Gumi was the most technically inclined person around, a prodigy of all things electrical, a verifiable genius.

Miku had lost count of the times Gumi had pulled her along to see some new invention or other. It could be a little scary at times, honestly. The girl would forget to eat if she was particularly engrossed in something, and at least once a week Miku would have to practically drag her away from her workbench.

Still, Miku couldn't deny she had talent. The small bursts of energy Gumi produced may not have been very powerful, but they were _very_ precise. When she was in a good mood, Miku had seen her weld circuits together with nothing more than her hand, a song, and a spark. It was a common sight to find Gumi sitting in the back room of her parent's house, humming quietly to herself while tinkering away at something.

The two of them had been friends since they were both very little, and the thought of not seeing her for any extended period was very hard to bear. Apparently Gumi had felt the same way, and she had wasted no time in engineering a solution.

"Take this with you" she had said, pressing something vaguely phone-shaped into Miku's hands. "It's a walkie-talkie that can call this one directly" She held up an identical device. "But be careful, it takes a lot of power and the battery is only good for about three hours per charge."

Here she had paused for a moment, chewing her bottom lip. "Also, don't… uh… don't let too many people see you using it. I didn't exactly get permission from any of the companies whose signals I jacked to make it work."

Miku was amazed that Gumi had even been able to make it at all, let alone make it work. If she hadn't known better, she would have assumed it was a piece of trash at first glance. The entire device was an unholy amalgamation of circuit boards, exposed wiring, and a liberal amount of duct tape.

The sound it made was less akin to a ring and more like an angry monkey covered in pots and pans. Every time it rang it was all Miku could do to stop herself from throwing it away.

Still, she couldn't deny the thing worked, and that amazed her to no end. If she'd had a proper facility and the right materials, Miku was reasonably certain that Gumi could create a phone that was better than any of the ones currently on the market. She would make a great engineer some day. That was for sure.

"This thing hurts my face" Miku complained as she held the glorified walkie-talkie slightly away from her cheek. "It's got pokey bits all over it. I'm going to put my eye out one of these days."

"Complain a little more, why don't you?" Gumi huffed. "You try building a working long range communicator without easy access to commercial grade electronics. Do you know how many cell phones I had to tear apart to find everything I needed? No, that isn't a rhetorical question! Twelve of them! I'm pretty sure Jenny from school is still looking for her tablet, too!"

"Meh, Jenny's a jerk" said Miku. "I'm sure her parents will get her another one eventually."

The device had made the trip a bit more bearable, but only just. Miku had been on the road for nearly two months, and had run the battery dry more times than she could count while talking to Gumi.

She had been traveling through towns and cities for most of the way, and she hadn't had any trouble charging the thing at a stray outlet now and again. However, for the past few days she had been traveling through this stupid forest with its stupid trees that didn't have any stupid electricity, so it made sense that she had not been able to recharge in a while. She silently wished that rocks had power cells.

"You know, we've been talking for a while now" said Gumi. "You should probably put the walkie away for a while if you want to have any charge left later. At this rate it's probably going to-"

The device chose that exact moment to shut off.

Gumi sighed, letting her head plunk down on the desktop. "Case in point…"

"Gumi? Hello?" Miku asked, shaking the device a little. When it failed to make any sort of indication that it was still working, Miku shrugged and slid the thing back into her pocket. Oh well, looked like it was going to be a boring couple of days. That was ok. Miku had been on the road this long, a little more couldn't hurt.

Gumi had asked her multiple times why exactly it was taking her so long to find anything. The fact of the matter was that It had only taken her so long to make it as far as she had because she had, in her usual fashion, neglected to formulate anything even remotely resembling a plan before setting out.

Maps? Maps are for chumps. Traveling is an adventure and it should be treated like one. She had gotten her directions from anyone she could ask, which had predictably resulted in occasionally being given the _wrong_ directions. An entire week went by as she backtracked from just north of Medley's Vale, which was ridiculously far out of her way to the east. Then again, perhaps it hadn't been the directions at all but the fact that she had followed them incorrectly.

Whatever. Not the point. She was here now, and that's what mattered. Even so this forest was beginning to become unbearable. She was getting seriously fed up with the whole "sleeping outside" thing. Miku was willing to classify a few nights under the stars as a "pleasant deviation from the norm", but was becoming genuinely tired of waking up to ants in her sleeping bag.

The fact that there were no formal restrooms in the forest was also very annoying, as well as the lack of restaurants and the general absence of air conditioning. The whole trip was becoming an ordeal, and she was really starting to hope that she would find this mysterious "assassin" soon, if he even existed.

As she walked along, she pondered the possibility that she may never find the Legendary Assassin at all. What if she was just left wandering this forest forever? Frankly, she could not imagine a worse fate.

"Worst. Vacation. Ever." she intoned quietly to no one in particular.

She came to a small stream and decided to rest for a while. Setting her things on the ground nearby, she lay down on the bank of the small body of water. _Maybe it's not all bad_, she thought. The weather was nice, and the atmosphere was very peaceful. Being able to have some time to herself was pretty cool too. Out here, she could sing as loud as she wanted to without having to worry about who was going to hear her, or complain that two AM was not an appropriate time for belting out a power ballad.

Not that she had ever really cared who heard her. Being a Vocaloid she had a natural talent for music, and her voice was nothing to scoff at. She had been complimented on it more times than she could count (when it wasn't causing domestic disturbances), and indeed singing was one of her favorite things.

As she lay there thinking she began singing absentmindedly to herself. It wasn't anything special, just a little song with nonsense words. It had a sort of bouncy, polka-like feel to it, and she often found herself humming it absent-mindedly. As she sang she picked up a rock and held it.

With a smile she felt the familiar warmth of the melody spreading through her head and neck, down through her shoulder and into her arm. When it reached her hand she gave it the smallest push and released it from her upturned palm. Slowly, the small stone rose several inches into the air and hovered, as though supported by an invisible spout of water.

Miku loved her powers. She loved the way each note caused the little stone to bob and bounce along with her internal song. The thrill of being able to affect the world around her was a novel experience that she hoped would never lose its charm.

The melody filling her head grew in strength and the volume of her voice rose accordingly, serenading the trees and tranquility surrounding her. It was times like these that made her appreciate the fact that she was alive and free. With no one around, just her voice and her thoughts to occupy her mind, she was at peace.

"That's a lovely voice you have."

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the unexpected sound of someone else's voice, however. Her power surged in surprise, and the rock exploded. She flinched as several small pebbles bounced off of her face. Quickly jumping to her feet, she dusted herself off and turned to find the source of the disturbance.

Before her stood a woman who looked to be approaching middle age, but had retained her youth well. Miku immediately made to yell at her, but pulled up short as she fully noticed the woman's appearance.

A mass of long, luxurious, light pink hair reached down past her waist, lending her a definite air of grace. Her hair, however, was not the first thing Miku noticed. Her clothes drew far more attention. Her gaze immediately locked onto the fact that she seemed to be wearing headphones. An odd fashion choice, to be sure, but this particular pair looked incredibly expensive, the band accented with an intricate golden weave. The rest of her outfit was no less eye-catching.

She had on a long black skirt, slit up one side to her hip, and a tight-fitting vest that was simultaneously modest yet form-hugging enough that it left little of her figure to the imagination. Both items were trimmed with gold accents and lent the woman a vaguely foreign aura. The vest was cinched at her breast with an elaborate knot of gold colored ribbon topped with a large jewel.

She wore no sleeves, but had what appeared to be matching gold-trimmed armbands over each bicep. A pair of extensively laced heeled boots reached up to her knees. The whole ensemble was much too fancy considering their surroundings as far as Miku was concerned.

What was more, Miku hadn't heard her coming. Maybe she had been lost in her daydreaming, but it was a rare occurrence that she did not notice someone approaching. She decided to file that away for later and focused instead on her impromptu guest.

"Who are you?" she asked, eyeing the well-dressed new arrival suspiciously. "Why'd you sneak up on me?"

The woman quirked an eyebrow, looking slightly amused. "Sneak up on you? It was impossible not to walk past you, being this close to the path."

Miku looked and sure enough, the woman was standing on the paved path that she herself had been walking along for the better part of that day.

The girl huffed. "Yeah, well, I didn't exactly ask you for a rating on my performance, did I?"

The stranger smiled gently. "I'm sorry, I meant no offense. I was just surprised to see another person here of all places. In my experience this isn't a place where one usually meets new people. What would bring a girl as young as you here all on her lonesome?"

The woman's voice was smooth and well-mannered, with just a hint of some unplaceable accent. Something in her tone suggested sincerity in her words and Miku answered her, albeit still slightly annoyed.

"I'm looking for someone, if you have to know" she said, crossing her arms. "I heard there was a strong Vocaloid living in this forest and I was hoping that maybe he'd teach me" said Miku. "Maybe you've seen him. Everyone calls him the 'Legendary Assassin' but I think that's kind of weird. Why would someone that famous live out in the middle of nowhere where there's no people to impress?"

The woman frowned a bit at this. She ignored Miku's question, instead posing one of her own.

"You're a Vocaloid out on your own looking for an… assassin? Forgive me if I'm… ah… slightly skeptical. You can't be more than fifteen! Aren't you a bit young to be travelling alone?"

"I'm sixteen, actually, and I think I can handle myself just fine" said Miku, a bit ruffled over the fact that this woman clearly didn't think she had much potential. The woman smiled, however.

"Well then, little Vocaloid, how about you walk with me for a while? I just happen to be traveling through these woods on my way to the next town over, and I could use a little company" said the woman.

Her straightforwardness took Miku off guard. Having met her a scant two minutes previously, she had no reason to believe this woman was trustworthy in any way. Then again… Miku looked her over. She doubted she'd be in any danger from someone this… fancy. There were enough gold accents and frou-frou accessories on her person to open a jewelry store.

"My name's Luka, by the way. Luka Megurine" said the woman, extending her hand.

"Miku..." she replied, accepting the handshake awkwardly.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Miku" Luka said with a smile.

*********************************Vocal Vision*********************************

Forty-five minutes later the two were walking side by side. As it turned out, Luka was actually a very friendly and interesting person. She had a lot to talk about, it seemed. Her strange appearance apparently went hand in hand with a rather unique set of life experiences. Where at first Miku had been a bit tentative about the strange woman that had approached her, she was now genuinely enjoying her company.

"You mentioned earlier that you were looking for someone? A strong Vocaloid, if I recall?" asked Luka, shaking Miku out of her contemplation.

"Oh, yeah, I want to find him and make him train me to be stronger" Miku replied bluntly.

"Make him? Sounds a bit forceful, doesn't it?" said Luka.

"I've been traveling for a while now. I haven't seen my friends, slept in a bed, or listened to any music other than my own voice for almost two months. If I find this guy, if he even exists, he's becoming my teacher" she replied, her voice resolute.

"_If_ you find him?" Luka inquired, cocking her head to the side. "You mean you don't even know where he is? How on earth do you expect to find him when you aren't even sure he lives here to begin with?" Luka asked, clearly at a loss as to why someone would make such a long journey just to find something that might not even exist.

"I'm just going off of what I've heard from other people. Everyone seems to think that he's somewhere in this stupid forest. And if he's not, then I'll look somewhere else" said Miku nonchalantly.

"Yes, well, a modicum of common sense can go a long way you know" said Luka, rolling her eyes at Miku's youthful optimism. "Urban myths can be dreadfully interesting, but rarely true. If you're deadset on a fighting instructor a reputable martial arts academy would be a more sound decision, certainly."

Miku didn't know what a 'modicum' was, but she got the gist of Luka's concern. "Meh. Maybe. But it wouldn't be even close to as awesome." Miku beamed, stars in her eyes. "Can you imagine how cool it would be to be able to tell someone that I was trained by a legendary assassin? I'd be like… I dunno, a celebrity or something!"

"Well I certainly admire your persistence. I can't imagine that there are many sixteen-year-olds who would work this hard to find someone who might not even exist" said Luka, a smile on her lips.

They continued walking and making small talk, when it occurred to Miku that while they had exhausted the conversation behind her own reasoning for being in such an out of the way location, she hadn't inquired as to why Luka happened to be in these woods.

It seemed a little odd that a woman like her would be traveling alone in a potentially dangerous area. Miku knew from her asking around that these woods weren't exactly the safest place. Such a locale was a natural draw for those of a less than reputable persuasion. There could be bandits or highwaymen (were bandits and highwaymen even still a thing that existed? She wasn't sure, but the terms seemed a little outdated to be entirely plausible). Miku would be fine with her powers, probably, but Luka must've had a very important reason for putting herself in such obvious danger.

"Hey Luka, why are _you_ out here? You said you're heading for the next town over, right?" she asked.

Luke sighed heavily. "To be honest, I wish that our meeting was taking place under happier circumstances. My mother is rather ill, you see, and I'm going to take care of her" she replied, taking on a wistful look. "Ever since father died she's been having more and more trouble doing things on her own."

"Oh… I'm uh… sorry to hear that" said Miku, slightly embarrassed at accidentally broaching such a personal subject.

"Well, life happens I suppose. What can you do?" said Luka with a melancholy smile.

They approached a fork in the road. An aged green metal sign in the middle read:

Kuroki Town, 5 miles

Clonderwell City, 30 miles

"It looks like this is where we part ways" said Luka, holding out her hand to Miku. "A pity. I was very much enjoying your company, young Miss."

"It was nice having someone to talk to, at least for a while" agreed Miku, returning the woman's handshake.

"Farewell, Miku. May fortune see fit to cross our paths again" said Luka as she turned and began to walk towards Kuroki Town, "Good luck finding who you're looking for!"

"Thank you! I hope your mother gets well soon!" Miku yelled back as Luka rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

Several seconds of silence passed in which Miku stood watching the place where Luka had vanished. She let out a breath. "Man... that lady was weird" she intoned to no one in particular.

Still, Miku was happy she had met her. It was a nice change to have someone in person to talk to while she walked rather than a voice on a walkie. She turned and looked down the other path that led deeper into the woods. Thirty miles was a long way to walk, but she had come this far. She blew a stray lock of hair out of her face.

"Great, more walking. Just what I was hoping for…"

Self discovery _really _isn't kind to one's legs.

When it started to get dark, Miku looked up at the evening sky and sighed. It looked like she would have to spend another night in this place. She figured she might as well stop here and set up camp.

She had never really checked to make sure that it was entirely legal to be camping in these woods. There was a very good chance that what she was doing could be considered vagrancy. However, her usual 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' mentality had won out in the end and she had decided to risk it. Who would care anyways?

As she started making preparations for a fire (almost definitely illegal, she reminded herself) she thought about Luka. She couldn't shake the feeling that there had been something off about her. Call her paranoid but she still couldn't help but wonder that there was something she had missed.

She would have liked to get Gumi's opinion on the day's events, but with the walkie out of power it wasn't an option. She sighed. At least she'd be able to charge it the next day when she reached Clonderwell. Eventually she dismissed the line of thought entirely. Luka had been odd, sure, but hardly suspicious.

_Not like I'll be seeing her again anyways._

*********************************Vocal Vision*********************************

It was dark. The fire had long since died down to embers and there was no noise, save for Miku's quiet breathing. She had chosen the most suitable spot she could find near the main path to set up camp. She didn't much like the idea of trekking further into the untamed foliage. Besides, who was going to come along a dark forest path in the middle of the night?

As it turned out, Murphy's law had something to say about that.

It should have come as no surprise when she was rudely awoken by hands roughly shaking her and a knife at her throat. Miku had never much cared for irony but the fact that she had just that day wondered if highwaymen still existed was not lost even on her. She sighed.

There were five large men standing around her in a semicircle, one of which was directly in front of her, holding a large and particularly dangerous looking blade in his meaty fist. Oh joy.

She was embarrassed more than anything. One light-footed woman managing to sneak up on her while she was daydreaming was one thing, but five large men? This was just too much.

It was at this point that Miku became fully awake and noticed a sixth man… who currently had her arms pinned behind her back. Wow, she was really batting a thousand today.

It occurred to her that with her arms being held, fighting back would be very difficult, Vocaloid powers or no. This brought up an interesting point: She was in serious trouble, a fact which didn't particularly bother her so much as annoy her and, if she made it through this, she would never admit to anyone.

"Well what do we have here?" said the man with the knife, "A pretty little girl all alone in the woods? Didn't your parents teach you that it's dangerous to go wandering off by yourself at night?"

Though she was in a great deal of danger, Miku was not the kind of person to abide being looked down upon. It should therefore come as no surprise that she chose that moment to do something incredibly stupid.

"No… actually they didn't… My parents abandoned me when I was a child…" she said, heaving a theatrical sigh. Some of the men actually deflated slightly at that. "I never had anyone to love me. When you woke me up just now, it was just from yet another nightmare of being alone. I guess I deserve this, in the end. I must be worthless, to be captured by such an incompetent band of fools."

It took a moment for the men to realize exactly what she had just said. Several looked momentarily confused.

"I guess this is the end for me. Who would have thought I'd die at the hands of such ugly people?" she continued, her tone slowly slipping from one of depression to something more derisive.

"What was that!?" yelled the man with the knife, his face reddening.

"Oh sorry, I should have spoken up. I was just saying how fat and stupid you all look!" she yelled back, all pretense lost.

"Looks like this little one likes to run her mouth!" the man said to others, "What do you think we should do with her?"

"Teach her some manners!" shouted one of the other men, brandishing a large club. Miku scoffed. What a cliché. He didn't even have the decency to threaten someone with a gun like a real modern criminal. Seriously, what self-respecting mugger even owned a club in this day and age?

"Sounds good to me!" said the first man.

With that he took two steps forward and slapped Miku hard across the face. Her eyes watered from the pain, but she didn't make a sound. Slowly, menacingly, she turned her gaze back to face the man who had slapped her, eyes smoldering.

The man grabbed her face in one hand and leaned in close. Ugh, his breath even smelled terrible. Seriously, bad guys had no class nowadays.

"How's that Missy? Ready to be a little more respectful of your elders?" he asked, his face inches away from hers.

"Respect this, asshole!" Miku bit the hand holding her face. The man reeled away, clutching his finger, which was now bleeding rather heavily. The man holding her, surprised at her actions, and looking a bit concerned for his friend, loosened his grip just the tiniest bit. Miku smiled.

In an instant, a powerful melody filled her head and a tingle of energy infused every inch of her body. Using the bit of leverage she had been afforded, she maneuvered her hand into a fist and sent every bit of power she could muster drilling straight into the man's stomach.

He fell to his knees in pain, the wind knocked out of him. Wasting no time Miku spun around and delivered a swift kick to the side of the man's head before rounding on his buddies, who all looked appropriately shocked. However, it only took them a moment to get over their initial surprise, and they began advancing on Miku menacingly, with weapons in hand.

"Oy! You've got some nerve girl! You just made this a whole lot worse for yourself! We just wanted your money but now it looks like we'll have to beat some sense into ya'!" yelled one of the men.

Miku's eye twitched. Taking her money was second on her list of things that made her mad. How unfortunate for this man that he hadn't thought first to just ask her for it. She still would have said no, of course, but it would have saved him and his buddies the savage beating she was now about to deliver.

"I am going to enjoy this WAY more than I should!" she shouted, hands beginning to glow.

The man with the bleeding finger rushed at her with his knife. She sidestepped the blade easily and tripped the man, landing a heavy fist into his gut as he fell. He went down hard, wheezing.

Pointing her glowing hands at the man with the club she fired a powerful blast of energy directly into his midsection. It bowled him over completely and the others started backing away, clearly scared and confused by the fact that a teenage girl was somehow knocking them around. Miku glared as she advanced menacingly.

But as she stepped forward, she felt a hand grasp her ankle. A hard pull and a swift descent and she was on her face. With a mental groan she realized that she had underestimated the man who had been holding her. That boot to the head should have left him out cold, but it seemed he was made of slightly tougher stuff than she had thought.

There was no doubt in her mind now that she was going to have to work on being more conscious of her surroundings. Well, provided that she got out of this alive, that is.

The man with the knife was on top of her in a flash, pinning her down and panting as he recovered from his earlier tumble.

"That really hurt, kid" breathed the man, his mouth next to her ear, "Let's see how you like it."

With a snarl he grabbed a handful of Miku's hair and viciously drove her face into the ground. Sparks of pain danced across her vision as a bruise blossomed across her cheek and her nose began to bleed.

This was definitely not going as she had planned. In her arrogance Miku had neglected to consider that perhaps a full grown man might not take as much punishment from a teenager's foot as she had intended.

She didn't have time to dwell on the matter as the man pulled her head back and slammed her face into the ground a second time. Miku yelled in pain, her nose making a cracking noise as blood began to pour from it. The man raised her head a third time, grinning like a fool.

Several things happened very quickly.

Just as the man made to drive her face home for a third time, Miku felt a sudden rush of air as a great force lifted the man completely off of her and blew him into a nearby tree. He slammed into the truck face first. The sound of splintering bark rent the air. Miku twisted around from her position on the forest floor and was struck speechless by the sight that greeted her.

Luka stood undaunted in the midst of the hulking men in a fighting stance, her hands and eyes glowing brightly with barely contained energy. She smirked.

Three of the men rushed her, swinging their weapons with murderous intent, clearly having had enough. A teenager had tripped up their boss and now this woman was trying to make fools out of them. Unfortunately for them, they _were_ fools and Luka appeared to be in no mood to tolerate their shenanigans.

As they reached her, Luka bent her knees and vaulted into the air, jumping clean over all three. Behind them, she loosed three bursts of energy from her hands in quick succession, knocking the men on their faces. The man with the club attempted to bludgeon her while her back was turned. Without even looking behind her she caught the weapon as it came down, gripping the handle tightly.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you about walking through the forest at night?"

Alarmed, the man tried to pull the weapon back, but found that he couldn't so much as budge it from Luka's iron grip. A devilish grin spread across her features and she chuckled darkly.

"It's dangerous."

She then spun around impossibly fast and hugged the man around his midsection. Her energy flared as she bent her legs and jumped backwards, taking the man with her. In the air she leaned back and threw him behind her, suplexing him on top of his three cohorts. Catching herself on one hand, she pirouetted gracefully before flipping back onto her feet.

Nonchalantly tossing her hair out of her face, she looked down at the pitiful pile of bodies that constituted the remains of her erstwhile opponents.

"Now are you gentlemen going to leave or do I have to get serious?" she cracked her knuckles and her eyes glowed a bright pink as her energy flared up around her once again.

The men may have been fools, but they could take a hint. Grabbing their boss and hoisting him between two of them, they turned tail and ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction. Needless to say, it would be a considerable amount of time before they attempted to rob anyone.

As quickly as it had appeared, Luka's intimidation factor vanished as soon as the men were gone. She spun around and rushed over to Miku, who was sitting up but still bleeding heavily from her nose.

"Are you alright?" Luka asked, worry etched all over her face as she examined Miku's injuries.

Miku said nothing, opting instead to let her jaw hang slack and her eyes bug out in amazement at what she had just witnessed. "Wha... how did you... but they were..."

"Wow, you're pretty banged up, aren't you?" said Luka, ignoring Miku's astonishment. "I suppose I could try to fix it… but I have to warn you, I haven't done this in a while and I was always more the type to _cause_ injuries rather than fix them".

Having said that, Luka placed her hand over Miku's face and closed her eyes. Her hand glowed briefly and Miku felt a sharp, quick pain followed by a muffled snap. She yelped and her hand leapt instantly to her face.

"OUCH! Hey what gives!? What did you do… to…?" she trailed off as she felt her nose. It didn't hurt at all anymore. In fact, it felt perfectly normal. The bleeding had stopped too. Whatever Luka had done, it had healed her.

"You… fixed my nose…?" asked Miku, dumbfounded.

"Vocal energy can be used for a lot more than fighting, you know. It's a shame that more Vocaloids don't practice medicine, really" she replied, "But I digress…"

With that Luka walked a few paces away from Miku, turned around and yelled:

"WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING? Trying to take on six fully grown men by yourself!? That's insane! _Oniigasen a napermo, _You're lucky you weren't killed! If I hadn't been passing by, what would have happened to you?"

Under different circumstances, Miku probably would have stopped to wonder what the hell a _napermo_ was, but she really couldn't be bothered just then.

"I… you… what… I don't even…" Miku sputtered, entirely at a loss for words. She took a moment to compose herself and then said: "I'm sorry, but what the hell just happened!? I thought you were going to see your sick mother and then you just show up and go all ninja on those creeps!"

"Don't try to change the subject" said Luka, looking stern.

"Change the subject!?" said Miku, gesturing wildly behind her. "You just suplexed that guy! And you were glowing! _Glowing!_ Who cares what I was thinking? You're like some kind of super hero, or... or secret agent or something!" Miku stopped a moment, clearly following a train of thought. "Like an assassin..."

And then it dawned on her.

Luka didn't like the look of burgeoning comprehension slowly spreading over Miku's face.

"Oh my God! _You're_ the 'Legendary Assassin'!?"

To say that Luka looked unhappy about Miku's revelation would have been an understatement. The cat was out of the bag, it seemed. Perhaps she should have taken a bit more subtle approach to dealing with those men than her preferred strategy of overwhelming force.

In hindsight, however, the glowing probably _had _been a little much.

She had to hand it to Miku though. It had been quite a few years since anyone had realized who she was. Not that she had made it particularly difficult for her to figure out, of course, but still...

It really didn't matter. This girl was undoubtedly the same as everyone else, asking her for her autograph, or begging for a demonstration, or, God forbid, asking Luka to _teach_ her. Wait a second... come to think of it, hadn't Miku been going on about something earlier? Something about… teaching...

Luka was barely able to suppress the urge to facepalm.

_Ok, no big deal_ Luka thought to herself, attempting to stay calm. _I'll just… play up my reputation a bit, yeah. Maybe sign an autograph and swear her to secrecy. No need to panic._

"You have a discerning eye! I am indeed the one that everyone calls the 'Legendary Assassin'" she said, her voice booming, "I have defeated countless opponents and my powers are unmatched anywhere in the world! Those who seek to challenge me are swiftly dispatched without mercy or remorse!"

_Nothing works like a good intimidation factor_, thought Luka, satisfied that this girl would undoubtedly be speechless with awe.

To put it simply, her little declaration did not have the intended effect (and sounded downright silly in retrospect). Miku's eyes grew round and her face lit up.

"YES! I finally found you!" she yelled, dramatically dropping to one knee. "I, Miku Hatsune, humbly request the opportunity to become your apprentice. Please teach me to be a fighter."

Oh no. No no no. It was all coming back. ALL of it. It was people like this that had contributed to her decision to live a life of seclusion in the first place. The publicity was hell. There was hardly a moment when there wasn't some misguided fan that thought they could become a legend too. This was rapidly escalating out of control. She needed to get a grasp on the situation and she needed to do it fast.

Later, she would look back and realize what a terrible course of action her next few decisions had been.

She could have said no. She could have told Miku that she didn't take apprentices. She could have tried to bluff her way out of it. Anything else would probably have been a better idea.

"Foolish girl! You think that someone as weak as you is qualified to be the apprentice of the Legendary Assassin? I only take on the strongest of Vocaloids to be my students! Someone such as you could never hope to…"

There was a loud crash as a nearby tree fell over. The remaining splinters smoked slightly from Miku's overly enthusiastic blast of energy.

"How's that for power? Those guys were just a fluke, I swear! I just got distracted is all!" said Miku, still with the same hopeful demeanor she'd had moments ago.

Well that was certainly... impressive. It wasn't every day you met a sixteen year old girl that could blow down trees with her hands. Still, it didn't mean anything. She could still feasibly just tell this girl that the answer was-

"You think that's enough to qualify you to be my apprentice? I could fell this entire forest in a matter of minutes! A single tree is nothing!" Oh God, she kept opening her mouth and all that would come out was stupidity!

Almost as if karma was mocking her, there were several more crashing sounds as eight additional trees fell down.

"As I was saying, this entire forest would be no problem at all for me to…"

Miku jumped up in the air and then punched the ground when she landed. A sizeable crater formed beneath her fist, sending large cracks snaking outwards.

"That's, impressive but…"

A log flew over Luka's head and smashed into a clump of bushes on the other side of the road.

"I didn't mean…"

A nearby boulder was reduced to rubble.

"That's not…"

A few birds squawked indignantly as the tree they were perching in was entirely uprooted.

"Ok! Enough! You've made your point!" shouted Luka.

Miku stopped terrorizing the local environment and faced Luka, breathing heavily. Ok then, it was obvious that she couldn't say this girl didn't have enough raw strength. Alright, a different approach then. Maybe some force was necessary.

"Of course, pure strength can only take you so far. A true warrior must be agile as well. Let's see if you can dodge… this!"

Inside Luka was repeatedly punching herself for even thinking this was a good idea. She was fairly certain that she had never looked this stupid in her life.

Nevertheless she still sent a blast of energy straight at Miku. Nothing too strong, she didn't want to really hurt her after all, just scare her a bit.

It therefore came as quite a shock when Miku easily sidestepped the blast.

"Agile my ass! If you're going to do that you have to at least _try_ to hit me!" Miku said with a roll of her eyes. "I saw that coming from a mile away!"

She had actually _dodged _it? Oh come on! What was the deal today!? She must be slipping. At what point had she gotten so out of practice that a teenage girl could avoid her?

Wait… _seen_ _it coming_? Did she just say that she had _seen_ the blast coming? Impossible! There was no way that someone so young could possess the ability to see uncondensed vocal energy. It took years of training and discipline, and this girl was obviously lacking a little in the discipline department.

Luka frowned. She herself had taken fifteen years before she could do it properly.

"Are you meaning to tell me that you actually _saw_ that?" asked Luka, astounded, "Are you telling me that you, a sixteen year old girl with no formal Vocaloid training, are able to use perfect vocal vision?"

"Vocal what-now? What's that?" replied Miku, "If you mean can I see you glowing, then yeah, can't everyone? I mean, it's so bright and pink. Kinda hard to look at, actually."

So she didn't even know the extent of her own abilities… It sounded to Luka like this seemingly ordinary girl, or as ordinary as the situation permitted, possessed perfect vocal vision. She could even tell that Luka's own aura was colored pink. Unbelievable. Luka had never witnessed natural talent like this. It was remarkable.

Miku didn't even seem to know what vocal vision was, let alone that it was anything special. If that was the case, then this girl had grown up with the ability to know a person's vocal energy just by looking at them. For her, it was as normal to see vocal auras as it was for a regular person not to see them.

Furthermore, it also looked like Miku didn't even have to put forth any conscious effort to do it, completely independent of the usual technique. She could just take a glance at someone and instantly know the level of their power as long as they weren't consciously hiding it

But really, that was neither here nor there. There weren't many Vocaloids of that caliber anywhere. All that aside, Luka was beginning to tlhink that maybe there was more to this girl than was readily apparent. Just maybe, she wasn't just another wannabe. Perhaps there was a slight chance that she could actually become a legend herself one day… or not. Best not to get carried away with her thoughts.

"So let me see if I understand this" said Luka, "You are able to see my vocal energy, right?"

"Yeah…. Didn't I just say that?" Miku replied, a bit confused.

"Interesting… what about now?" said Luka. She suppressed her energy, lowering her output until it was almost non-existent.

"Whoa! Wait, what did you just do? That's what you were doing when we met, isn't it? That's why I didn't notice you!" said MIku excitedly, "Can you teach me how to do that?"

"I don't recall saying that I was going to teach you anything" said Luka, "…however, in light of your abilities, I must admit that you are more qualified than I thought you were…"

Luka thought hard for a moment. Was she actually considering this? _Could _she actually be considering this? This was exactly what she hated about publicity. Could she really be letting herself embrace one of the things that had driven her to a life of solitude in the first place?

More than that, she wondered, could she really take on an apprentice? What authority did she have to teach someone? She had never done it before. What was to say that she would even be good at it? Granted, when it came to knowledge of Vocaloid ability, there were few with more practical experience than her, if any. Still...

"Hey, anybody home?" said Miku, looking at Luka inquisitively. Absorbed as she was in her musings, she had nearly forgotten that Miku was still awaiting an answer.

"Oh, sorry, yes, well… " said Luka, once again at a loss for words. She composed herself, almost not able to believe what she was about to do.

"I concede" she said, taking on a serious tone, "You may have what it takes to be my apprentice."

Miku's eyes lit up and grew as big as dinner plates. Luka noticed this and quickly continued.

"BUT! I'm still not completely convinced!" she said, giving Miku a hard stare, "There are a few more tests I want to put you through before I make my final decision. If you can pass them to my standards, then..." she sighed, nearly having to force the words out. "Then I'll make you my apprentice. If you think you're up for it, then pick up your things and follow me."

Unfortunately for Miku, Luka was nowhere near sold on the idea of being her teacher. Sure, this girl had amazing talent, but Luka had seen talent before, and that didn't make the outcome any different. Just because she was making the worst decisions in history today didn't mean she had to let it end with this girl as her student.

After all, she assured herself, in all likelihood she was just another hopeful that didn't have what it took. Luka didn't even see herself as the kind of person that had the right to teach someone. But since she had gone and spoken without thinking, she was going to have to scramble for a way out.

Looking back, Luka would remember how strange the whole situation seemed. What had possessed her to have so much interest in this one girl? She didn't really know. All she knew at the time was that she had gotten herself into quite a mess…

…

Oh, and that she had better think up some tests before they got back to her house.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

*Edit 04/08/14* Made many cosmetic changes. Updated dialogue. General Clean-up.

*Edit 09/22/14* First half of chapter mostly rewritten. Character dialogue updated. Cleaned up unnecessary or clunky narration.


	2. Strength! Speed! What?

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

*********************************Chapter 2*********************************

Gumi Megpoid was worried.

But that was nothing new. She was a worrywart. She worried about a lot of things. Usually it was something petty, like worrying about what to make for dinner or how she was going to get ahold of a new part for her scooter. This was different, though. This time it was… well, at least it could be… serious.

She hadn't heard from Miku in far too long. The last time they'd spoken Miku had been traversing through the "Assassin's Forest", thusly named due to the rumors that the so-called 'Legendary Assassin' lived there.

Gumi wasn't sure where exactly it placed, but 'assassin' was rapidly climbing the ladder of her least favorite words, currently beating out 'teat' and being just behind 'mangrove'.

It was Miku's fault. The girl had regaled her endlessly with the tales she had supposedly heard of the assassin's amazing abilities and flawless skill. Personally Gumi thought the whole thing sounded like a load of rubbish.

Really, what were the odds that an incredibly dangerous former assassin had suddenly decided to up and leave their no doubt glamorous and exciting lifestyle for complete anonymity secluded in a forest? It was the kind of thing you'd expect to see in a television show, not real life. In her opinion the whole thing seemed a little too far-fetched to be true.

Miku had informed her that due to the low battery life of the walkie she probably wouldn't be able to contact her for several days at least since, as she had complained several times, there was nowhere to charge a phone in a forest.

Gumi assumed they would be out of contact for a while, but four days? Wasn't that just a little _too_ long? It couldn't be that something terrible had happened to her, could it?

Her mind suddenly filled, unbidden, with images of Miku in all manner of awful situations. What if she was in trouble somehow? What if she had fallen off a cliff and broken her leg and now lay there, trapped, with no one to help her? Good God! What was she doing just sitting here? She had to save her!

As if sensing the teen's rapidly escalating mental panic, the scrap metal phone on the desk in front of her started to ring...

...Or at least clang loudly in a vain attempt to sound like it was ringing. It got her attention, at least.

Scrambling to pick it up, Gumi only succeeded in accidentally swatting it away from her, knocking it off into the space behind her desk. It clattered against the wall as it fell, still making a most terrible noise. She practically knocked over the chair she had been sitting in as she dove beneath the desk to get to the device, as well as sending a couple of her little projects all over the place in the process.

"Hello? Hello? Miku are you- OW!" she yelled, smacking her head against the underside of the desk as she sat up.

"Gumi! Is that you?" it was Miku. She was okay! And she sounded... excited?

"Who else would it be?" she answered sarcastically. "Do you realize how long it's been since you called? You had me worried sick!"

Miku wasn't listening.

"Guess what! I found the Legendary Assassin! And you know what else? He's a she! And you know what _else_ else? She agreed to be my teacher!"

"I really worry about you, you know? You really need to think about how other people feel when you do things like..." she paused, Miku's words finally registering. "Wait... really? You mean there's legitimately someone living in that forest that calls themselves a legendary assassin?"

"Yep!" Miku confirmed happily. Gumi could practically hear her bobbing her head up and down in glee.

The teen genius was speechless. Sure, she'd supported Miku in her decision to search for a teacher. She was her best friend, after all. Never once, however, had she actually considered that Miku might _actually find something._ The idea was absurd!

"Thats... uhm... uh... unexpected" she offered lamely. Really there were no words.

"Yeah! I know! You wouldn't believe what I had to do to get her to say yes. It wasn't easy. I don't think that anyone that isn't me could have done it" said Miku, recalling the last several days. "I can finally use my left arm again though!"

"You can finally _what_?" Gumi gasped, praying she had misheard.

"It was just an accident, don't worry about it!" said Miku dismissively. "Anyways, let me tell you about what happened when I got here! You won't believe it! _After_ the bandits attacked me, we went-"

And she was off.

"Miku wait, there's something important that I have to…" Gumi began, but it was too late. Miku had already launched into a full explanation of everything that had happened since Luka had rescued her.

The green-haired girl sighed. Knowing her best friend, there was little hope of stopping her now that she had started. With no other recourse Gumi settled in for what was sure to be a most riveting tale…

*******************************Three Days Earlier********************************

Miku awoke on something soft for the first time in a long while. She didn't immediately remember where she was, but was content to bask in the gloriousness of waking up on something other than a dirt mattress.

She didn't want to ever move away from that wonderful, blissful sensation, but as her mind slowly began to shake off the shackles of drowsiness and recall the previous day's events, simply laying in bed quickly began to seem a lot less interesting.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she sat slowly upright and assessed her unfamiliar surroundings. She remembered that she had followed Luka back to her house (how something so big as a house had been constructed in the middle of the forest without anyone noticing was beyond her) and had crashed almost immediately in the guest bedroom that Luka had pointed her to.

A glance towards the corner of the room revealed her clothes, folded, resting atop a small stool. Looking down at herself, she observed that she was wearing a pair of pink pajamas that were far too large for her. _They must be Luka's _she thought to herself, _is everything she owns pink?_ She must have been pretty tired; she didn't even remember changing into them.

Investigating further, she appeared to be in a small bedroom with sparse furnishings, though what little furniture there was lent it a decidedly strange atmosphere. There was a vanity crafted out of some kind of strange green wood and a dresser made of the same. On the wall hung some shelves with small figurines on them. All of them were animals, painstakingly detailed and looking as though they had been crafted by hand in some distant foreign country.

On top of the dresser sat a small framed picture of Luka (looking more than a few years younger, Miku noted) holding an enormous fish while standing on the deck of a rather large fishing vessel. She was smiling proudly and displaying her catch to the camera. Miku briefly wondered how many places Luka had been in her life. Judging from the items in this room alone, it seemed like a lot. Where had she traveled to? Had she been all over the world? She would have to ask her later.

Before the thought could really take hold, however, Miku caught a positively enchanting smell coming from elsewhere in the house. Influenced by the growing pit in her stomach, she quickly decided that further investigation was in order.

After getting dressed (she noticed that her clothes had been washed) she exited the room into a long hallway. Upon reaching the end, she found what must be the living room. It was an average affair. Couches, chairs, a few bookshelves, television, computer… wait… television? _Computer_? In the middle of the forest!? How the hell did that work? Then again… how did Luka have a secret house in the first place?

Deciding it wasn't important enough to worry about at the moment, Miku hung a right towards what she assumed was the kitchen, if the sounds and smells were any indication.

The sight that met her eyes upon entering the room made it difficult not to laugh. Luka, wearing an apron (pink, obviously), was holding a frying pan and dancing exuberantly to the music presumably playing through her headphones. Apparently, the ornate earpieces were part of her ensemble at all hours of the day… interesting.

The overpowering smell turned out to be bacon, several strips sizzling in the pan. Miku, having not had hand-cooked food in a considerable length of time, was understandably drawn to them.

As one of her more intense dance steps brought her into a spin, Luka finally took notice of the teenager practically salivating in the hallway. She paused mid-turn, posed awkwardly on one leg.

"Oh! You're awake!" she said. "Did you… uh… sleep well?"

"Are you kidding?" Miku replied. "I've been on the ground for like… a month, I think? I wouldn't have cared if I'd had to sleep on the floor."

"Good to hear" said Luka, turning back around, "I've come up with a suitable… uhh… test for you to do, I think. It's a bit short notice, so it won't be as er… intense as what I would normally give, but I think it will suffice." There was, of course, no such thing as what she would 'normally give,' but such an admission was at this point out of the question.

Luka carried the frying pan over to a large dining table and shoveled the bacon onto a plate. The rest of the table was already covered with assorted breakfast foods, and was conveniently set for two.

In what was quickly becoming a theme that morning Miku wondered how Luka could afford to buy that much food, living out in the middle of nowhere. Again, the prospect of quelling the beast rising in her belly put those thoughts aside.

As she sat down, Miku was in awe. She hadn't had a real meal in ages, and she found herself nearly drooling as she looked over the array. Wait, check that, she _was_ drooling. Without waiting for Luka's approval she dove straight in.

Luka noted, looking both simultaneously disgusted and impressed, that the girl at her table appeared to have basically no proper manners when it came to eating. It bordered on vicious, the way Miku tore into her food. The spectacle reminded her more of some wild animal attacking a potential meal rather than the polite breakfast she had assumed it would be.

As they ate, though Luka thought that 'ate' was a less accurate descriptor than 'brutalized' in Miku's case, they discussed many things, but Luka was strangely silent on just what she had in store for the girl's "test", and refused to divulge the secret despite any of Miku's prodding.

The end of the meal saw Miku's half of the table resembling a battlefield. Luka shuddered. She would have sworn that she saw blood, had a bottle of ketchup not been present, though given the spectacle she had just witnessed it wouldn't have surprised her anyways.

After they were finished, Luka picked up the dishes, or rather the remains, and placed them in the sink. She would deal with them later.

With a sigh she turned to face the eager young girl that was eyeing her expectantly now that the distraction provided by food was absent. "Very well" she said, attempting to hide the reluctance in her tone. "I suppose it's time to begin. Go wait outside and I will join you once I've finished my… uh… preparations."

She groaned inwardly, the surrealism of the situation not lost on her. It was difficult to sound convincing when she had only come up with any of the supposed "tests" the previous night. Fortunately, perception didn't seem to be this girl's strong suit, a fact which Luka was grateful for.

Miku, however, couldn't have been happier. She couldn't wait for her trials to begin, and it was with a spring in her step that she walked outside to wait for her (hopefully) future mentor to join her.

As she passed the threshold of the door and wandered out into the yard, a splash of color caught her eye and she turned to look back at the house.

In the darkness of their arrival during the previous evening she had been unable to make out anything noticeable about the exterior of the building. Now, however, the house stood in full view in the light of day, and it was a strange sight.

It stood two stories tall with one side wall entirely dominated by an enormous stone water wheel that currently stood motionless in the absence of any sort of body of water to power it.

Looking around, Miku couldn't see any indication that there had _ever_ been a river here, let alone now. In any case the point was hardly worth considering in light of the fact that no one in their right mind would construct a water wheel out of stone anyways. It looked enormously heavy and it was a wonder in itself that the house was able to support the thing.

As out of place as the wheel was, however, it was not what had caught Miku's attention. Regardless of what they may have been supporting the walls were eye-catching in their own right.

The entire house was covered from foundation to roof in drawings of every sort of creature imaginable, as well as few that Miku was quite sure she had never even dreamed of. Animals of all shapes and sizes posed in a massive collage of vibrant color.

Most noticeable was the entire front wall of the house which was dominated by a gigantic tiger, its jaws gaping as it let out a proud roar. Around the side of the house stood a bear, rearing up on its hind legs as a menagerie of other, smaller creatures played over the rest of the wall in a portrait of nature.

Miku wondered silently what Luka's obsession with animals was about. Not only these paintings, but everywhere inside the house as well was filled with figurines and drawings of every type of wildlife.

She walked back around to examine the stone wheel in closer detail, and a glint of metal caught her eye. Moving nearer she discovered… actually, what was that thing? Some kind of… metal box?

"I see you found the generator" came Luka's voice from behind her.

"Gener… ator?" replied Miku.

"Certainly" said Luka, stepping up beside her. "How do you suppose I managed to cook breakfast? Take a shower? Have lights?" She lightly patted the device. "This provides me with all the electricity I need."

Miku may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but even she had paid enough attention in school to know that you couldn't just hook something up to a box and have it produce energy forever.

"So it just… makes it?" she asked, understandably skeptical.

"Of course it doesn't silly. That's what the wheel is for!" said Luka, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right. So the big water wheel with no water powers the house…" said Miku, raising an eyebrow.

"Water wheel?" said Luka, "Who ever said anything about water?"

With that Luka walked up to the giant wheel, pulled up her sleeves, and grabbed hold of it. Surely she couldn't be intending to turn the thing manually? That was even less plausible than the infinite power box.

"Well I just sorta assumed…" said Miku, trailing off.

"You should never assume things…" said Luka, with a slight smirk. Miku's eyes saw a bright pink glow flare up around her.

Then, with one powerful motion, Luka spun the wheel.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" yelled Miku, watching as the wheel spun so fast that it was a wonder it didn't come spinning right off the wall it was attached to.

An audible hum filled the air as the generator recieved a new flow of power. The lights in the house flickered slightly.

Luka turned around and looked at Miku. "That should last for a few days" she said with a smile.

"H-H-How did you do that?" asked Miku. It wasn't possible. The sheer amount of strength someone would need to turn something that heavy...

"I am very strong" Luka replied cooly.

"Well, yeah… I kind of figured, but that wheel must weigh…"

"Nearly three tons?" Luka interrupted with another small smirk. "You would be correct."

Miku was in awe. Not even in her wildest imagination did she ever think that things like this were possible. She had always known that there were strong Vocaloids out there, but this? Miku had read comic books where the heroes couldn't do that.

"Anyways, let's get down to business" said Luka. She noticed how much easier it was to seem like she knew what she was doing when her audience was speechless.

"I have three tests for you. In order to establish what your basic abilities are at the present time, I have devised a test for speed, a test for strength, and one that you will only find out about if you make it through the first two."

And it wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination that this girl couldn't make it through the first two, Luka told herself.

"Ok, so what do I-" Miku began, but Luka cut her off.

"Ah ah ah. The first test is about speed and I'm sure that you're going to want as much time as you can get. Save your questions for later" said Luka. "In the interest of testing your speed, I have a very straightforward task for you to complete. You'll recall that when you first entered this forest you passed a large sign at the entrance. I have placed a small red rock on top of this sign. I want you to bring it to me."

Miku sighed. And here she was thinking that she wouldn't have to spend any more nights shaking twigs and bugs out of her clothes. The entrance must have been thirty miles away. Another night in nature's bounty was imminent, it seemed.

_Wait a second…_ a thought occurred to her.

"When the hell did you have time to put a rock on top of that?" asked Miku, confused.

"This morning, before you woke up" Luka replied without missing a beat.

Of course she had.

"Ah, also, before I forget, since this _is_ a test of speed, it's only natural that there should be a time limit" said Luka failing to entirely hide her satisfied grin, "So if you can't get back here with the stone before midnight, you fail."

"MIDNIGHT!? But that's…"

"Less than twelve hours away?" Luka interrupted again in that infuriating way she had, "Yes, I do believe that's right. Best to get moving! Good luck!"

"But how the heck am I supposed to-" Miku began.

"GO!" shouted Luka, still smiling.

Miku, realizing that this was the best chance that she was going to get, took off at top speed.

Luka watched her figure grow smaller as she ran off in the direction of the forest entrance. If this didn't get this girl off her case, nothing would. Luka mentally scolded herself for allowing herself to be this underhanded. If she had just told the girl no in the first place, then this wouldn't even be happening.

Still, she supposed it didn't matter now, at any rate. There was no way, naturally talented or not, that a sixteen year-old girl was going to be able to run a sixty mile round trip within twelve hours. It was regrettable. Miku had real potential.

But Luka had chosen a life of seclusion for a reason.

A shadow passed over her face as she watched Miku's form get swallowed up by the treeline. That girl deserved someone better than her...

She sighed.

*********************************11:50 PM*************************************

Luka looked at the clock. Miku had been gone for almost twelve hours now. It was nearing the agreed time and Luka was steeling herself to give a harsh denial to Miku's notions of becoming her apprentice. She knew that she couldn't take her in, but that didn't stop her from feeling bad about what she was doing. She wasn't going to get any sleep that night.

She briefly wondered if what she was doing was really the right thing. She knew very well that she should have just refused Miku's initial proposal, but something had stopped her. Frankly, she couldn't imagine what she had been thinking. The more she dwelled on it, the worse she felt.

_No, _she thought, _what's done is done. _For now, she had better start thinking of a proper rejection. After all, it wasn't like Miku was going to be back to the house before morning; that would be ridiculous.

There was a knock at the door. Her blood ran cold.

Slowly, hesitantly, not daring to believe it, she walked over to the door, grasped the knob, and turned.

It wasn't possible. Her eyes were lying to her, she was sure of it. Against all odds, there she was. Miku stood in the doorway, framed by the moonlight. Her breathing was heavy, she was covered in sweat, her clothes were dirty and torn, and she looked to be nearly on the verge of collapse, but in her left hand, clasped in a white-knuckled death grip, was the very stone Luka had asked her to retrieve.

Miku slowly extended this hand, opened it, and let the rock clatter to the floor. Her eyes never once left those of the Vocaloid master.

"Done…" she said, and passed out on the spot.

Luka was dumbfounded. She hardly dared to look at the time but she didn't have to. She already knew.

The clock chimed midnight.

************************************Later*************************************

The girl slept soundly in the bedroom down the hall. After putting her in bed, Luka had gone back out to the kitchen and poured herself a strong drink from the bottle she kept at the back of the cabinet. Gods knew she needed it after what had happened earlier.

No matter how many times she went over it in her head, there was just no way she could make sense of it. At its shortest distance, the trip Miku had made was sixty miles long. But that was assuming that one moved in a straight line from the house to the forest entrance. Taking the path, the trip was closer to eighty miles. She must have gone straight there, but how? That route was nothing but dense forest and rough terrain. There was no way someone could simply plow their way through.

She gritted her teeth. Judging by the state that she had returned to the house in, Miku had found a way.

The fact stood that the girl had indeed completed the task Luka had given her. The stone wasn't fake, so the only explanation was that she had gone all the way there and back again.

Luka took a sip from her glass and grudgingly brought the more pressing issue to the forefront of her thoughts. Since Miku had indeed completed the task set to her, she was entitled to a second test.

Luka needed to put stop to this before it went any further.

_I suppose I could always just refuse. _She mused. _I don't have any obligation to this girl_. But even as she thought this she knew it was a lie. She had taken on an obligation to this girl the instant she had saved her from those men.

"_A Oniigasen napermo…" _she muttered under her breath. "Gods, Haku, why couldn't I have been like you for once?"

The taste of her drink soured in her mouth the instant the name passed her lips. This was hardly the time to be bringing up the past. She scowled at the glass in front of her. Alcohol when she needed to keep a clear head, what was she thinking?

Besides, if there was anyone that was acting like Haku it was the girl herself-

Luke winced. She'd just had to think it, hadn't she? The last thing she needed now was to start comparing Miku to _her..._

It didn't matter. Reminiscent of old acquaintances or not, Miku was without question going to be asking to take on the next test. Too bad Luka hadn't thought she would even make it through the first one. She hadn't made a second "test" at all.

She had told Miku that she had a "Speed" test, a "Strength" test, and a "Mystery" test in store for her, but she hadn't really planned for the contingency that Miku made it this far. According to her own (however ill-thought out) words, the next test should be about strength, but what could she possibly…

_Oh… that might work..._

Luka chuckled to herself, while at the same time feeling a little guilty. She couldn't possibly ask the girl to do it, there's no way she could. The strongest man in the world wouldn't be up to the task. But desperate times called for desperate measures, so Luka got up out of her chair and started preparing.

She just hoped that she could use up enough electricity before Miku woke up.

*****************************The Next Morning*********************************

Miku awoke to house that was much different than the one she had collapsed in the previous evening. It was… louder. She could hear the television (cable, another thing that Luka shouldn't have had) and the stereo blaring. The washer and dryer were both on as well. Upon leaving her room, she discovered that not only was the house loud, it was also bright. In fact it seemed as if every light in the house was on. It was freezing too. Not surprising. She could hear the hum of the air conditioner running full blast.

As she entered the dining room, she spotted Luka sitting at her computer (Internet access too? What black magic was this!?).

It was more than a little unnerving. The woman sat hunched before the screen, everything electrical in the room either blaring, shining, or some combination of the two.

"So…" Miku ventured, taking a hesitant step into the room, "Trying to break the world record for the highest electric bill? Heh… hehe…"

The forced laugh died on her lips as Luka turned around to look at her. It took a considerable effort to prevent herself from taking a step backwards.

The woman looked terrible. Dark circles under her eyes indicated that she'd gotten either no sleep or very little. Still, a slightly manic light shone in her eyes as she gazed at Miku from across the room. Luka smiled, the overall effect being more creepy than reassuring.

"Oh, you're awake! This is part of your next test." Luka replied.

"It's part… of my next test?" asked Miku, understandably confused.

"Oh yes" Luka said, "Don't worry, you'll see soon enough."

Miku was very confused (and well on the way to freaked out) about what the woman's strange behavior could possibly have to do with a test of any sort. Still, she'd come this far.

"Yeah… I'll bet… Hey, could I like, take a shower and change my clothes before we start?" she said, "I mean, these aren't exactly cutting it anymore" she indicated her torn clothing.

Luka's expression was downright predatory.

"By all means. The restroom is up the stairs, first door on your left" said Luka sweetly. Miku caught the hint of mischievousness in her voice, "Use as much hot water as you need, take your time!"

_Yeah, that's right, use as much water as you want. Take a nice long shower _she thought to herself, the corner of her mouth twitching with the hint of a smile. She'd be rid of this girl today, she was sure of it.

It was an hour later that Miku emerged from the bathroom wearing one of her spare sets of clothes. As she walked downstairs, Miku noticed that the appliances and fixtures that had previously been on throughout the house had been turned off. Luka was also nowhere to be seen. Upon entering the kitchen a sheet of paper on the table caught her eye.

**GO OUTSIDE**

Considering what she had gone through the previous day, Miku allowed herself a small shiver of nervousness at the prospect of a second such test. All of that running. So much of it. She hadn't a clue how long it had taken her. Hours? Days? It felt like the latter, though common sense urged the former.

And now it was time to prove herself again with whatever Luka was going to throw at her.

The mystery of exactly what the test entailed was solved almost immediately when Miku walked out the front door. She looked to her left and there was Luka standing with her arms folded looking at Miku with a bit of a smirk.

"Finally decided to show yourself, I see" she said, unable to keep herself from smiling.

The blue-haired teen was about to give her a snarky retort but faltered when she noticed what Luka was standing next to.

The pieces fell into place, and Miku wasn't sure she liked what she saw.

Directly next to Luka was the enormous stone wheel that powered the generator. It was at that moment that the words "test of strength" took on a whole new meaning.

"So… roulette?" she tried at a joke, but her smile faded almost immediately. "Yeah, didn't think so…"

"You catch on quick." Said Luka, still smiling "Let me explain. As you already know, this wheel weighs nearly three tons. Most definitely outside the abilities of a normal human being. However, as you also know, I can move it using vocal energy. 'Strength' for a Vocaloid isn't just strength in the physical sense. It's all the force their powers can lend them as well. As such, I want you to show me how much 'strength' you have by spinning this wheel."

"Can't I just buy a vowel instead?" Miku asked, her smile holding this time. Sure the thing was heavy, but it couldn't be that difficult to make just one rotation. "But seriously, is that it? I think I can-"

"You didn't let me finish!" Luka interrupted, waggling a finger with the ghost of a smile. "Just spinning the wheel isn't enough. The wheel is hooked up to the generator that provides power to my house. Spinning it enough will charge the generator. But there's a catch."

Miku sighed. Of course there was.

"You might be wondering why I had everything in the house running all night. The answer is that I was attempting to drain as much of the generator's reserve as possible. As things stand, I was only able to use half of what it has, but that should be more than enough."

Luka's expression hardened slightly. "Your job is to fill it up again."

It was hardly fair, asking her to accomplish something so obviously arranged against her. The Vocaloid master prepared herself for the cry of protest that she was sure the girl would raise.

It never came.

What Miku did instead scared Luka. No whining. No complaints. The girl merely glanced at the wheel, cracked her knuckles, and _smiled_.

"That it?" She asked, fire in her eyes. "Sounds fun."

Luka did not know from what unnatural reserves this girl drew her willpower, but it was becoming very troublesome. She narrowed her eyes.

As Miku approached the wheel to begin, Luka spoke one more time.

"One more thing" she said, hoping to provoke at least a small bit of nervousness, "This test has a time limit too. Finish charging the generator by midnight, or you fail. Good luck."

_Arrogant little brat._ She couldn't help but think to herself. Even so, Luka found herself beginning to develop a grudging admiration of the girl's spirit.

Miku was ready this time. Running through a thick forest for hours on end was not her idea of a productive exercise but this… this was right up her alley. She was sure that she could do this. When it came to brute strength, no one topped her. She might not have been the most tactical person, but if something needed smashing then one needed to look no further than Miku Hatsune.

Still smiling, she walked up to the wheel and grabbed it, acquainting herself with the feel of the thick stone. She readied herself for the effort.

_1… 2… 3! _She pushed as hard as she could.

The wheel didn't move an inch.

Well, she hadn't expected to get it on her first try, but there was still plenty of time.

******************************Five hours later**********************************

Things were not going as planned.

Miku had still been completely unsuccessful in moving the wheel even a little. The thing was enormously heavy, and she was rapidly running out of ideas.

Her initial confidence had since begun to fade and she was starting to become worried.

What was it that Luka had said to her before she started?

"'_Strength' for a Vocaloid isn't just strength in the physical sense. It's all the force their powers can lend them as well."_

That gave her an idea. Releasing her futile grip on the stone she retreated about ten feet away from the base of the wheel and took aim at one of the spokes.

For several seconds, nothing happened. _Come on... _She thought. _I know I'm not _that _exhausted. Spark, damn you..._

Miku closed her eyes and concentrated. Then she felt it. A low, throbbing bassline filled her ears and slowly began to grow. The beats came in time with the pulse of her heart and as they built in intensity so too did her blood begin to flow faster.

A soft tingle started at her shoulder and spread down her arm, carrying with it a faint blue glow that soon enveloped her hand and started to expand.

The beat continued, each pulse causing the glow encasing her arm to shine brighter and brighter.

Miku began to sweat. It wasn't often that she gathered this much power at once. The tingling sensation was becoming more of a dull burning.

After a minute it was starting to hurt, and Miku took careful aim before releasing the pent-up bolt of energy.

The blast flew true and hit its mark in the center of one of the wheel's spokes. The whole structure shook, along with the house, as if it had been hit by a small earthquake.

"Oi! What was that?" she heard Luka exclaim from inside, "Are you trying to break it?"

Miku didn't hear her. Her strategy had worked, the wheel had moved. Only about a quarter turn, but it had moved. She smiled. Now she was getting somewhere.

An hour later, however, she ran into another problem. By repeating the same strategy over and over, Miku could manage almost half a turn per blast. She checked the generator's power meter and noted with dismay that she had only succeeded in generating a pathetic 3% of the maximum charge. Apparently the speed with which the wheel turned made more of a difference than she had anticipated.

That was unfortunate. She could get the wheel to start spinning, but she couldn't keep up the momentum. At the rate she was going she wouldn't finish by noon the next day, let alone midnight.

Letting out a sigh, Miku sat down on the ground. What would Gumi do in this situation? She was sure the goggle-headed genius would be able to come up with something. Physics surely held the solution somewhere.

Miku had always taken her best naps in physics.

The blue-haired teen had never really been one to pay attention in class, or really to be awake in class for that matter, but she somehow found her thoughts wandering back to the few times she had actually managed to strain her attention span enough to glean some useful information.

There were three laws of motion, or was it four? No, no, three, she was sure of it. She couldn't for the life of her remember the other two, but like a diamond in the rough one of them had managed to stick out:

_An object in motion tends to stay in motion, and an object at rest tends to stay at rest._ She swore to herself to never admit to Gumi that school had actually helped her.

That was the key. She didn't need to keep charging up to maximum power every time she wanted to move the thing, that took too long and gave the wheel time to stop moving. A smaller blast should serve to keep the wheel's momentum from dwindling.

She gave the stone before her a defiant glare and once again began charging up a big wave of energy. When she could contain it no longer she released the blast directly at the wheel, but this time she didn't stop. Without waiting, she fired a much weaker, much faster blast from her opposite hand.

Miku knew that it had worked the instant the blast connected with the wheel. Just as the structure began to slow down the second blast connected and kept the thing spinning. It wasn't anywhere near the speed she'd seen Luka put into it before, but at this point she'd take what she could get.

It maintained a steady rotation, and Miku, now once again fired up, continued to fire small, quick blasts from either hand. The wheel started to turn faster and groaned as it picked up speed.

That groan echoed through the house. In the living room, a book was closed and placed on the couch next to a very worried pink-haired woman.

This… was not in the plan. _There's no way… there's just no way…_ Luka told herself. Nonetheless, her adamant protestations aside, Luka could not stop herself from walking outside to check.

There the girl stood, a look of staunch determination on her face as she blasted away relentlessly at the spokes of the stone wheel.

And it was spinning. Oh Gods it was actually spinning.

Luka didn't know what to do. Taking a few shaky steps backwards she turned and bolted back into the house, immediately switching on everything electrical that she could think of. The stereo blared, the air conditioning ran full-blast, and every appliance and object with a plug made a cacophony of noise as they whirred, clicked, or whistled.

She cursed herself inwardly. If she'd just said no… but it didn't matter. She was past the point of just being able to back out.

The wheel gave another wall-shaking groan and Luka's eyes flew wide. She could kick herself later. She had to put a stop to this!

*********************************10:00 PM********************************

Luka was very worried. In the last four hours, despite her best efforts to the contrary, Miku had filled the generator up to 80%. Nonetheless, she was reasonably sure that, it having taken four hours for her to manage only 30% of the battery, Miku still wouldn't be able to make the remaining 20% within the two hours that were left. The vocaloid master was sure that Miku had to be exhausted by now.

Luka was right.

Miku huffed and puffed as she continued her assault on the wheel. It had been spinning pretty fast for the past four hours, and Miku hadn't let up at all. As such, she was becoming very fatigued from using so much energy. But she couldn't stop now. There were only two hours left and she had to fill the generator up to 100% no matter what.

But even she could sense that it was was a losing battle. She was nearly dead on her feet from four hours of constant exertion, and she wasn't going to be able to keep it up for much longer. She needed a solution, and fast.

It was time to try something stupid.

An idea came to her. By all accounts it wasn't a very good one, but she knew how she could do it.

She would need to be very close, close enough to touch it. That wasn't a reassuring prospect. She would also need to use more energy than she would normally be comfortable with. There would be a lot of recoil, and she wasn't sure she could even contain that much power in the first place. All in all she could end up hurting herself quite badly.

But she had to try. She approached the wheel slowly, maintaining her assault. She needed to get it spinning faster. It had to be able to support itself while she tried tried to gather enough power.

She doubled her pace. In her head, the bass pumped faster and faster, and each beat was a wave of energy leaving her hand.

More and more the wheel spun, the pace picking up to almost twice what it had been. Miku eyed it nervously. It seemed to be going much faster up close.

Then, all at once, she stopped. She instantly began building up energy, but not releasing it.

It started to hurt very quickly. Her hands began to shake with the effort of holding it back. Miku went far beyond what she had stored up before, her arms and shoulders beginning to burn, but still she kept going.

She cracked open one eye, glowing blue with energy, and saw that the wheel was only spinning about a fourth its original speed and she knew that she had to hurry.

_Almost there. Come on damn it! _She screamed at herself.

And then she felt it.

She hit a plateau, and knew that she had reached her limit. She grit her teeth. This was going to hurt.

She took her hands, which were now glowing brightly with barely contained energy, and raised them palms out in front of her. She had to connect with the wheel for maximum effect. Fortunately, the wheel was now turning slowly enough that touching it wouldn't be a problem.

The problem would be what came after.

All at once she leapt forward and slammed her hands into one of the spokes, at the same time releasing all the energy she had stored up.

Inside the house a bright blue flash illuminated the living room, followed an instant later by a deafening boom. The entire house vibrated and shook, picture frames falling from the walls and plaster shaking loose from the ceiling.

Luka leapt for the door, tearing around the edge of the house.

The sight that greeted her eyes nearly made her heart stop.

The wheel was spinning so fast it was a blur. Miku lay on the ground nearly ten feet away, hands smoking.

The wood making up the side of the house was cracked and splintered near the base of the wheel, charred black in places from the force of the blast.

Miku groaned as she sat up. It felt like she had dislocated both of her shoulders. But as she looked up at the wheel, a grin spread across her face.

Luka wasn't smiling. With a strangled cry she rushed to the generator. The power level was rising rapidly.

_No no NO!_ She screamed in her head. This couldn't be happening! _95… 96… 97... A eto itana! Stop, please!_

But stop it did not. Luka's lips stretched thin in a grimace.

"One hundred percent" she said out loud, her voice shaking, not able to believe it.

From the spot where Miku was laying on the ground, Luka heard it. Laughter. Pure, joyful laughter. Miku was laughing loud and proud, and Luka knew that she had every right to. But enough was enough. This charade had gone on long enough. One way or another it would end tomorrow morning. She knew what she was going to do for the last test, and she didn't care if it was unfair to the point of being ridiculous. She had allowed it to get to this point, so she was going to have to do something to put a stop to it, even if it meant stepping in herself…

"Miku." She said, her tone subdued, "Your final test will begin tomorrow morning at Ten o' clock. Don't be late."

With that, she walked back inside, up the stairs, and into her room, from which she did not emerge for the rest of the night.

***************************9:00 AM, the next day*****************************

Miku awoke much as she had done the past two days. She felt well rested and ready to take on the world.

Something about that felt off.

She had pushed herself to her physical limits for two days straight and yet somehow she was managing only the slightest bit of fatigue. Something told her that when she was finally done with all of this and the adrenaline wore off she was going to be more than a little bit sore.

She had other things to think about at the moment, though. For instance, the fact that if she passed today's test, she would actually be a student of the legendary assassin! She could hardly believe her good luck. When she had set out from her home, she had imagined the task to be nigh on impossible and yet here she was, albeit after a few bumps and bruises, having almost achieved her goal.

Being so close made her nervous. What could Luka think up for the third test? The first had been about speed, and the second about strength, but there was nothing to be said about the third. It could be anything and, considering the events of the previous two days, most likely would be.

To be honest, she was a little frightened of the possibilities. Luka had already given her two devilishly hard tests to complete and she had barely gotten through those. Surely this third test would be a task of absolutely epic proportions.

But what had her concerned the most was that she had seen neither hide nor hair of the woman since the previous evening. The vocaloid master had seemed rather cold when she had told her that her third test would begin at 10 AM sharp. Strange, Miku would have assumed that she would be happier for her.

Whatever the cause for Luka's less-than-eager demeanor, Miku was sure that it couldn't be too bad. In any case, she was going to give it her all, and come what may she would complete this test and become Luka's apprentice if it killed her.

Imbued with a new sense of confidence, and feeling that the only option was victory, Miku got dressed and went downstairs.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

Luka stood in the field in front of the house, waiting for the door to open and Miku to emerge, brimming with confidence as she knew the girl would be. But today was different. It didn't matter how much confidence the girl had because Luka wasn't going to let her succeed.

This time would be different. This time she controlled all the variables because _she_ was the test. Miku wasn't going to become her apprentice, and that was final.

Luka's eyes clouded over for a moment. She still felt guilty. If Haku could see her now...

As she stood there lost in her thoughts the front door opened and out stepped Miku, indeed looking like she was ready to take on the world. _The world would be easier than me _Luka assured herself.

"Hey! Not to be, you know, rude or anything, but can we start early?" asked Miku. Given her track record, she wanted as much time as possible should there be a time limit.

"Of course, if you're ready" Luka replied, not quite hiding a hint of coldness in her tone.

"Always" said Miku, stretching her arms and cracking her knuckles.

"Very well, then let me explain" said Luka, "Whereas the other two tests took you all day, you will have only four hours to complete this third test."

Miku deflated slightly at that. _So much for getting a head start._

"This is because this test is much more straightforward. You see, I am the third test. Starting now, you have four hours to land a hit on me. This means any contact at all from grazing my arm to punching me in the face. I will not fight back or attack you, so feel free to try any strategy you wish. You may begin."

And with that, Luka sat down on the ground, took out a book, and began reading.

"You want me to just… like… hit you?" asked Miku, a little uncertain that she had heard correctly.

"Yes. Anything you wish to try is fair game so go ahead. It would behoove you to hurry up, you only have four hours."

Miku was dumbfounded. Luka wasn't even going to fight back? Was her final test seriously to just walk up and touch her? That couldn't be it. But if it got the woman to train her then she wasn't about to complain.

As such, Miku walked up to Luka hesitantly and reached out a hand. A split-second tingling in the air was all the warning she got as a powerful unseen force lifted her off of her feet and tossed her away like a ragdoll. She landed several feet away on her back, stunned.

"HEY! What the hell was that!?" yelled the blue-haired teen, quickly scrambling back to her feet, "I thought you weren't going to fight back!"

"Who's fighting back? I'm simply preventing you from hitting me." Luka replied, not once looking up from her book, "You didn't think it would be that easy did you?"

_No, I guess not_ Miku thought to herself. She grit her teeth. It was never the easy way, was it?

Ok then, if that was how she wanted to play it, fine. Miku could play it like that. She backed up a few paces and started a simple beat in her head. She could _definitely_ play it like that. She charged up a small energy blast and threw it at Luka.

It never got close. Luka's own blast blocked it before it got within ten feet. Undeterred, Miku charged up again and threw two blasts at Luka. Again, there wasn't even a chance.

Miku was rapidly beginning to understand just how far in over her head she might be. She usually had two ways to solve challenges. Punch it, or, when that failed to work, punch it harder. She was reasonably sure that neither of those were going to work very well here.

It was infuriating. The woman obviously wasn't even trying. Miku's vocal vision enhanced sight saw every tiny fluctuation of Luka's energy as she knocked blast after blast out of the air. The amount of power she was exerting was almost non-existent. Miku needed something she couldn't just block off hand...

The entire time Luka hadn't looked away from her book for even a second. She had guessed it was going to be easy, but really? _This_ easy? She had expected a bit more…

An enormous blast of energy came streaking through the air, headed directly for her. The power behind it was impressive, if only a fraction of hers. Without putting her book down she rolled to the side and out of the way of the blast. It sailed past her and impacted nearly twenty feet behind her, exploding in a shower of dirt and grass and leaving a small crater upon contact with the ground.

Before she had time to sit back up another equally powerful blast followed the first and she repeated the maneuver to avoid it.

_Well, I _almost_ can't read my book, I suppose that counts for something… _thought Luka.

Miku was nothing if not persistent. A third, even stronger attack plowed past the vocaloid master, digging a deep furrow through the ground.

_My yard is going to look terrible after this_...

This continued for two hours. The entire time, Luka completely evaded every effort to hit her by ducking, dodging, rolling, deflecting and just generally not being where Miku's attacks were aimed at. To say that the girl was becoming frustrated would have been an understatement.

Miku huffed and puffed, drops of sweat trailing down her face. She was getting nowhere, and she knew it. At this rate she would run out of steam before she even got close to hitting Luka. She needed a new tactic, so she decided to change things up a bit.

Luka sensed another blast coming from the left and prepared to dodge but then realized that it wasn't heading for her. It sailed wide right and hit the ground instead. Then another one came soaring through the air and hit the ground on her right. All at once the air was thick with orbs of energy flying every which way.

Without warning one of the blasts landed directly in front of her, sending a small plume of dust exploding upward. A second attack immediately followed, this one sailing directly through the cloud of debris on a collision course with her face.

Luka's eyes went wide. With only a split second to react she threw herself to the side. The blast passed so close that she felt the whoosh of displaced air as it soared past.

_That was close… _she thought, her heart pounding. She looked up at Miku. _She's getting creative._

Luka calmly marked her spot in her book and put it away. That had been far too close for comfort. She couldn't afford to get distracted now.

Miku smiled. That had almost worked. She at least had the vocaloid master's attention now. Still, that only meant it would be even harder to hit her.

_Let's try it again_ she thought, charging up once more.

An additional hour later, Miku had achieved nothing but a field covered with craters and red, watery eyes from all the dust in the air which, annoyingly, didn't seem to affect Luka in the slightest.

"You had best hurry up. You only have an hour left" The woman reminded her.

Miku only growled in response. She hardly needed Luka to tell her that she was on the brink of failure. She knew all too well that her time was running short.

Biting her bottom lip, Miku momentarily stopped her assault. She needed to do something and fast.

Luka watched as Miku began to run in the opposite direction, toward the treeline. She was momentarily confused. What could she possibly be up to now? Her question was answered almost immediately by a loud cracking noise.

She ducked as a small tree flew past her head. _Oh, that._ she thought as Miku pulverized the roots of another tree with a vicious salvo of energy blasts.

Luka was impressed by how far Miku was willing to go. But no matter how much she rearranged the landscape, it wasn't going to make a difference. Luka jumped from place to place as it started raining boulders and large pieces of earth.

Luka heard Miku let out a frustrated scream as she ran back towards her. Frontal assault this time, then. Miku ran straight up to Luka and started throwing punches and kicks as fast as she could, but not one of them connected. Luka weaved in and out, easily avoiding the onslaught. She backed up against a boulder and moved to the left just as a fist smashed straight through it.

Miku was getting desperate now. She couldn't touch her. Why couldn't she touch her? The woman was like a ghost!

Miku let out another shout of frustration. This wasn't working! Luka was simply too fast and too skilled for her to hit.

...It was time to try something stupid again.

Luka wondered if Miku would just keep it up until time ran out. She could imagine the look of heartbreak on the young girl's face when she realized that she had failed. The mental image made her feel downright evil.

It should never have gotten to this point. If she'd just bitten the bullet and refused the girl outright none of this would be happening. Now she was going to have to crush this girl's aspirations simply because she hadn't been brave enough to say no.

And then it happened. Distracted as she was by her guilty conscience Luka almost failed to notice the tree trunk laying across the ground behind her. She hopped over it at the last second without missing a beat.

Miku struck.

As soon as Luka's feet touched the ground on the other side of the log Miku charged up a sizeable blast in her right hand, went low, and blasted the tree straight up off the ground into Luka's face.

Luka's hand sliced clean through the trunk, shearing it in two. The instant she did, her vision filled with bright blue.

Miku came flying through the air before the two halves of the tree had time to hit the ground. With a cry of victory she thrust one arm forward, her hand blazing with energy.

The whole scene moved in slow motion to Luka's well-trained eye. The girl's hand flashed once before the energy contained within blasted out at point blank range.

Luka's head jerked to the side, the blast of blue passing millimeters from her eye. Her body, trained by years of fighting and self-preservation reflexively carried out the next step.

She smashed one foot into the ground, sending a wave of pure force blasting out in front of her. Instantly all of Miku's forward momentum stopped.

Miku only had a split second to register of look of confusion before Luka charged up energy in her right hand, stepped forward, and released a blast directly into Miku's chest.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, Luka acting purely on instinct. The blast was a small one, but a small blast from Luka was far different than a small blast from a sixteen year-old untrained Vocaloid.

Miku flew twenty feet before she hit the ground, then skidded and bounced as she ragdolled across the dirt for an additional fifteen before finally coming to a halt in a cloud of dust.

The girl didn't move.

Luka was by her side in an instant. "Oh no… no no no…" she said to herself as she hastily turned Miku over. "_A Oniigasen napermo_ please say I didn't do this…"

She was still breathing, that was good, but she was out cold. She had rapidly growing bruises all over the place from hitting the ground and bouncing. Her elbows and knees were bloody as well as a spot on her left cheek, and one of her arms was bent in a way it shouldn't have been. That was considerably less good. Luka scooped her up and bolted inside as fast as she could.

Half an hour later, Luka laid Miku's still unconscious but thankfully alive form into bed. She had cleaned and dressed her wounds, and her left arm was in a sling. It had only been dislocated, but she was going to have to take it easy for a few days.

She was relieved that the girl was going to be ok. She was relieved as well, though now incredibly guilty, that Miku had also failed to complete the test. She was not looking forward to breaking the news to her. After what she had just done, she wouldn't be surprised if the girl tried to attack her again out of principle.

With a heavy sigh Luka trudged to the bathroom to wash off the dust and exchange her now soiled clothing.

It was only after she had splashed some cold water on her face and looked in the mirror that she noticed it.

She could have sworn that she felt her heart skip a beat.

There, in her reflection, she saw something that shouldn't have been there, something that couldn't have been there, but no matter how many times she blinked or long she waited, it wasn't going away.

Along her cheek ran a long, thin cut.

She had been hit.

*******************************End of Chapter**********************************

Update 05/31/2014:

Heavy editing and rewriting. Character dialogue updated. Added more detail and description.


	3. Plagued by the Past, Luka's Apology

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

*********************************Chapter 3*************************************

Luka gently traced the cut on her cheek. Her hand shook. There was no way. Her eyes were playing tricks on her, her guilty conscience rearing its ugly head. There was no possible way that she, the one everyone called the undefeatable 'Legendary Assassin' had actually been hit.

She squeezed her eyes shut. This was a dream. It had to be a dream. She would close her eyes and when she opened them there would be no cut. She would NOT have a cut on her face. It simply was not possible that there would be a cut on her face when she opened her eyes. _Ok, here we go. 3… 2… 1… _she opened her eyes and stared at her reflection.

The cut was still there.

She slowly sank to the floor and rested on her knees. Letting out a long breath. This was too much. What on earth had she gotten herself into? She could have said no, she _should_ have said no, but she hadn't. She could have put a stop to this… this… whatever it was before it had even gotten started. Now she had gotten herself into a situation from which there was no escape, from which she could not extricate herself no matter what she did…

No matter what she did… unless…

She stood back up and stared at herself again. The answer was so painfully obvious. It was literally staring her in the face.

In her mind she briefly flashed back to herself healing Miku's injured nose. It would be a simple matter, healing herself. All it would take would be a bit of power and a little concentration, and she could pretend that it had never happened.

How would Miku know the difference? It wasn't like she would have noticed it in the first place. Luka could tell her that anything had happened while she was out. That's right, Luka could just calmly explain to her how she had accidentally overreacted when she had been attacked. She would apologize, of course. It _had_ been her fault, after all. She wouldn't even mention the cut.

Then Miku, disheartened but still with her indomitable spirit, would set out to find a new teacher. Luka would see her off and wish her well and then she could go back to her quiet, peaceful life of seclusion…

And loneliness...

That's when it occurred to her. Was that really all that she was trying to achieve from this whole harebrained scheme? Was she so afraid of having another person near her? Had she hidden herself away for so long that the mere thought of having another person close to her for any length of time scared her _that_ much?

When she thought about it like that she had to admit that it made her sound like a hermit. But then again, what else could she really claim at this point? After twelve years…

It couldn't be as bad as all that. She was just berating herself. She'd been more than this, once. Someone who lived for something, who fought for something… a hero.

She cringed inwardly_. No, _she thought, _I'm no hero, certainly._

She was afraid of having a person near her long enough to become her friend. If someone trusted her that meant that she could let them down. If she could let them down that meant that she could fail them, just like she had before.

Then again, maybe this time could be different. Who was to say that she was destined to let people down forever? Surely even she, the one least qualified to talk about trust, could make up for her mistakes, right? Maybe if she put her all into it and believed as hard as she could, then this time might be different.

She sighed.

It was the same tired argument she had subjected herself to countless times before, and she knew how it went. _After _that_, how could I ever… _she thought to herself, _How could I ever be worthy of the right to have someone trust me ever again?_ _I don't deserve that. Not after what I did to her…_

It wasn't that she needed the forgiveness of others. She had shunned that forgiveness for years now. It wouldn't make a difference, Luka could never forgive _herself_ for what had happened all those years ago. She would never be able to reconcile her conscience over what she did to her best friend.

But at the same time she thought this, she couldn't help but recall the obvious similarities Miku shared with her. When she looked at Miku it was as if she was looking at a carbon copy of Haku. They talked the same, acted the same...

She smiled. They even sort of dressed alike.

Luka took a moment to think, and she thought hard. Perhaps this wasn't what she had made it out to be. Perhaps this could be the chance she had wished for and yet rejected for so many years. Maybe Miku, with her infinite similarities, was the key for Luka to redeem herself. Perhaps she could finally atone for her past sins. And maybe, just maybe, she could give Miku the chance that she had denied her friend.

_Wait!_ Thought Luka, _at what point did I accept this? I was opposed to this. I _am_ opposed to this! _

_I am… aren't I?_

But she couldn't keep up the charade. Over the past few days, she had come to like Miku in spite of herself. It wasn't like she _didn't_ want to take on an apprentice. She had wondered before what it would be like to pass on her considerable knowledge. She was just never able to get over her own guilt enough to justify it.

Miku was different. This girl had talent. _Real _talent. If she could do all of what she could do at her age, there was no telling what she would be able to do with proper training.

Luka would teach her, but she would also make sure that Miku didn't become like her. She wouldn't be a killer…

*********************************Vocal Vision*********************************

"Hey!"

Mmmm... Someone was talking…

"Hey you!"

What did they want? Miku was sleeping. That was so rude of them.

"Come on! Wake up coma girl!"

Miku grudgingly opened her eyes and found that… she was not where she expected. She was lying in Luka's spare bedroom, certainly, or at least on the bed, but the room itself was nowhere to be seen. Everywhere she looked it was simply… black. There was nothing. No furniture, no people, no light, just… nothing.

"Down here stupid!"

Miku looked down towards the foot of the bed to find the source of the voice that had woken her. What she saw didn't do much to clear up the situation. At the foot of the bed stood... herself? It at least sort of looked like her, a little bit.

This "Miku" (though she was loathe to call it that), was tiny, miniscule even. Standing full height the slightly creepy caricature of herself would have barely made it up to her knee. Her face lacked certain defining features as well. No nose, no pupils, a simple triangle for a mouth… it looked less like a person and more like someone had used her as the inspiration for their new modern art display.

"Ummm…. ok…." said Miku warily, not sure of how to handle this, "Who are you?"

"Can't you tell? I'm you!" replied the strange creature, "Miku Hachune at your service!"

"Uh, it's... Hatsune, not Hachune", Miku corrected her.

"I think I know my own name" said Hachune indignantly.

"Alright…" said Miku slowly, still trying to shake the cobwebs out of her head. "How are you me, exactly? And where are we?"

"We're in your head, duh" said Hachune, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And I mean I'm you. It's not that hard of a concept."

Alright then… Miku supposed this meant that she definitely wasn't awake. Could she be dead? Nah, that couldn't be it. She must be out of it for some reason. She'd heard of lucid dreaming before but if this was what it was going to be like…

The creepy version of herself stared up at her, blinking. Miku cringed back just slightly.

She didn't really know why she would be unconscious. Her memory was a bit of a blur. The last thing she clearly remembered was blasting that tree at Luka during her third test. Everything else was kind of hazy. She could remember pain, a lot of jarring and bumping, and she could vaguely recall someone carrying her. Now she was here, with an imp treating her like she had suffered partial brain death.

Not the weirdest day she could recall having, in any case.

"So… you're like my conscience?" asked Miku.

"Does this look like a movie?" Hachune replied.

"Well… I mean you sort of look like-"

"Ok, maybe that wasn't the best comparison" interrupted Hachune, "No, I'm not your conscience. I'm just a figment of your obviously damaged imagination. Then again, can't really blame you for being 'damaged.' You _did_ get hit in the chest with the equivalent of a small amount of high-grade explosives. Also if _you're_ damaged and I'm _you_… probably better not to toot my own horn anyways."

"Hit in the chest with…" and then it all came flooding back to her. Geez, she _had_ flown a long way, hadn't she? Ouch, it hurt to remember it.

"There we go" said Hachune, "finally remembered, did you?

"Luka said she wasn't going to attack me. Why would she…"

"Isn't it obvious?" interrupted Hachune again, "She didn't want you to pass the test, dummy."

"But why wouldn't she…" and then suddenly Luka's less than supportive attitude made sense.

All this time she'd thought Luka had been testing her, impressed with her natural abilities. She'd been giving her challenging tests to see what Miku was capable of, seeing if she fit the bill to be taught by the great 'Legendary Assassin.'

Miku groaned. How oblivious was she? It was obvious that Luka was less than interested in the idea of teaching her. She hadn't been giving her challenging tests, she'd been giving her tests that were supposed to be _impossible to complete._

"Of all the dirty…" began Miku.

"Figured it out did you?" said Hachune, "Good job, it only took you forever and a day."

Oh Miku was going to have a few choice words for Luka when she woke up. The verbal storm she would unleash would be the stuff of legends. Men would cry and women would faint. Somewhere, a sailor would hang his head in embarrassment.

"Now that you know, I think you know what to do next." Hachune said suggestively.

"Give her hell?" Miku replied.

"See? We are the same person." replied the imp, with a sly smile, "I guess that means it's time for you to wake up, you know, for real this time. Hold on, this is going to feel a bit strange. Waking up from being knocked out usually does…"

*********************************Vocal Vision*********************************

Miku slowly opened her eyes. As before, she was lying on the same extra bed, the only difference being that the rest of the room was present as well. The animals were on their shelves, the vanity and the dresser were in their rightful places, and the afternoon sunlight filtered in through the garishly pink-curtained window.

Miku attempted sitting up and as she did so realized that her left arm was in a sling. She tried to move it and a sharp pain shot through her shoulder. She resolved to keep it still for the time being.

A small noise drew her attention: soft breathing to her right. She turned and frowned.

At least Luka had made herself easy to find.

The instant she laid eyes on the pink-haired woman her anger flared. Vengeance was forthcoming. Luka would have a rude awakening.

"HEY! Wake up!" she shouted.

Luka jumped nearly a foot in the air and crashed off the chair when she landed. Rubbing her back, she looked up at Miku.

"That was hardly very nice" she said groggily.

"Good! That's what I was going for!" yelled Miku, revving up her engines. "Where do you get off, huh? Making me do those 'tests' for what? Your own amusement?"

Luka, for her part, seemed taken aback. She hadn't known exactly what to expect upon Miku waking up, but it certainly hadn't been this. She sputtered in response, attempting to quickly clear her head of the cobwebs of sleep.

"You were so full of yourself, sitting there watching me! Waiting for me to fail or something, right? Bad choice, jerk! You bit off more than you could chew when you messed with me! What happened? Got nervous when I finished the first two and decided to take me out? Just blast me into last week and say I failed? Screw you!"

Miku took a breath, preparing to unleash another barrage of insults, but before she could say another word Luka did something unexpected. She lunged forward, grasping Miku's hands between her own, and pressed her face into the bed sheets.

"I'm sorry!" she sobbed, her voice slightly muffled. "I don't know what I was thinking! You came to me and asked me to teach you. You were completely honest with your intentions and I took that honesty and threw it away. I'm so sorry!"

Miku grimaced, her anger suddenly derailed after Luka's outburst. This wasn't how this was supposed to go down. Luka was supposed to cross her arms and make a snide remark or two about how Miku was an idiot for thinking that she ever had a chance in the first place, not prostrate herself in front of her and beg forgiveness. Damn it she hated crying people. So awkward...

"You're… sorry?" she asked tentatively.

"More than you could ever know" Luka replied, "I never meant to hurt you. You came in so fast that I just reacted without thinking. If you had been seriously injured I don't know what I would have done with myself."

Came in too fast? Seriously? Was she kidding? _I actually got that close?_ The last of her anger fizzled out to be replaced with a small measure of pride. Forget anything else, she had actually come within inches of landing a blow on one of the greatest Vocaloids who ever lived!

"I… really came that close?" she asked, amazed at her own ability.

"Not just close Miku…" said Luka. She then lifted her head up from the carpet and pointed to her cheek. There, plain as day was a thin red mark. "You got a lot better than close."

Miku's mind went numb.

"You mean I passed... passed the…" she stuttered. Everything she had thought was now rendered invalid. She had actually done it. Who cared if it meant getting herself knocked out and her arm dislocated? She had done it!

"Passed the test, yes" Luka answered for her, "But I have to tell you something Miku."

_Oh you have got to be kidding me_ thought Miku. After all of this Luka was still going to refuse to teach her, she just knew it.

"From the start, just like you said, I was never planning on taking you on as my apprentice" said Luka, avoiding Miku's eyes.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE…" started Miku, but she was interrupted.

"I wasn't planning on it, but I changed my mind. You made me change my mind, Miku" said Luka, "It's true. I never expected you to actually complete any of those tests, let alone all three. But you were right, I underestimated you. But even though I changed my mind, I still treated you terribly, and I think you deserve to know why."

Luka was still avoiding meeting her gaze. Whatever was bothering her, she must really feel terrible. Miku could see a tear forming in the corner of one of her eyes. _Oh geez, here we go..._

"That's ok, you don't have to…" Miku started to say.

"Yes I do!" said Luka forcefully.

Miku shut her mouth. Obviously, Luka needed to get this off her chest.

After a several moments of silence, the pink-haired woman spoke again.

"It happened what feels like a lifetime ago and very far away from here. I had a friend. A good friend. The best a person could have. Her name was Haku. We were inseparable, her and I. We lived together, traveled together, we even trained under the same master. There was a time when we were considered to be the strongest Vocaloids alive, but she was always the one who loved the attention that being the strongest afforded her. She was the one who was always accepting challenges and signing autographs, and I was happy to let her have that. I was never the kind of person for all that popularity."

Luka was starting to cry. There were a few tears running down her face.

"And then one day something happened, something terrible. The kind of thing that can tear two people apart. After that… I snapped. It was a dark time in my life. I didn't want to face what had happened so I drowned myself in my fans. Everyone adored me, so I just used it as an excuse to escape. I didn't deserve it. It should have been her getting that praise, just like always, but she let me have it. We made a promise when we were kids that we would share whatever we got, and she kept it. Even when she was in the spotlight she was always happy to shine some of it on me, and she never let it go to her head."

The troubled look on Luka's face intensified, as if what she had to say next was even more difficult.

"I… broke that promise. The fame and fortune went to my head and I shoved her aside and embraced it. I had so much, anything I could ever want, but at the same time I lost something much more precious. One day we had an argument. I said several things that I shouldn't have, and that I could never take back. I said that I didn't need her and told her to leave and never come back… so she did. I never saw her again."

Luka was now openly weeping, still clutching Miku's hands like a lifeline. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and continued.

"After that I soon realized that the fame wasn't worth it if I didn't have anyone to share it with. Even though so many people idolized me none of them truly _knew_ me. I had legions of fans and not a single friend. I looked for her, but I never found her. To this day I don't know where she is or what she's doing. Eventually I stopped looking and just gave up. I didn't know what to do, so I left. I wandered for a long time across most of the world and finally ended up here where I could keep away from all of the things I'd done. That was twelve years ago. I'm no 'Legendary Assassin' now, just someone with too many regrets."

Miku sat and listened as Luka bared her soul to her, unsure of how to react. She _really_ hated crying people. Awkwardly, Miku wriggled one of her hands out of Luka's vice grip and placed it on the woman's shoulder. Luka finally looked up, locking eyes with her.

"And then you came along" she said, and as she did, Miku saw something new in her eyes, something almost happy. "Believe it or not, you were the first person I've had any meaningful contact with in twelve years. I don't know what possessed me to talk to you, but…" Luka faltered for a moment before continuing.

"You have no idea how like her you are. When I look at you, it's like I'm looking at a younger version of Haku. Everything about you reminds me of her. I was drawn to you. That's probably why I didn't just tell you no at the beginning. Even so… I was afraid to be near you. I know it sounds silly, but I felt like if I took you on as my apprentice, I would be replacing her. And what if I ended up letting you down and hurting you like I hurt her? I…" But before she could continue, Miku spoke.

"Why are you still talking?" Miku said. Luka frowned angrily. "I'm trying to tell you that-"

Miku interrupted her. "You sound like a broken record! Look, it's super easy. If you don't want to let me down then just say that you'll teach me! That's all I wanted from the start anyways!"

Luka didn't know what to say. It was like Haku had stepped straight out of the pages of her memory.

"Miku… Thank you…" said Luka, bowing her head once more.

"Yeah sure, no big deal" she replied. All this crying and apologizing was really starting to get to her. She was an action-oriented kind of person. These situations messed with her head. She hastily changed the subject. "Anyways, I'm pretty hungry, is there anything to eat in this house?"

"I suppose I could try to find something" said Luka with a smile. "It's the least I could do after what happened. You must be starving. You've been unconscious for hours."

Had it really been that long? On top of the three days before she realized that she hadn't spoken to Gumi since before she'd met Luka. The girl was probably going out of her mind by now. She'd have to remember to give her a call later.

"That long, huh?" said Miku, "Could you help me up? I really need to pee."

Luka laughed and helped Miku to her feet. Her legs were a little shaky but steadied quickly.

However, once Miku was out of the room, Luka's gaze fell. She'd tried so hard to tell Miku everything, but it seemed that there were things she still couldn't bring herself to face. There was more, so much more, but at least it was a start. For now, she had to start thinking about how she was going to go about teaching someone when she had never done it before.

She only hoped that she would be able to do it right. Now that she was committed, she was going to see this through to the end. Come hell or high water, she was in it for the long haul.

An hour later one wouldn't be able to tell that anything had ever been amiss in the first place as Miku and Luka spoke and laughed with one another over dinner. They looked like old friends, and to Luka, it felt as much.

*******************************Elsewhere**************************************

Three shadowy figures stood talking. One could tell by the tone of their voices that the discussion they were having was a serious one.

"You realize, I hope, that after we do this there will be no going back, yes?" said one of the figures. A black cloak concealed most of the individual's appearance, but a few strands of long yellow hair were visible under a hood.

"I've known it from the start. All of us have spent years preparing for this day. Backing down now isn't an option" replied another hooded figure.

With that said she turned to the third of the group.

"Ritsu, it's time" the second person said.

"I thought you'd never ask" said the one called Ritsu. The voice was quiet, wispy, like an autumn breeze, but not nearly as peaceful. It carried a sinister intent.

With that, the third hooded figure walked across the room and entered what appeared to be a large glass pod.

The yellow-haired one moved over to a large console with a brightly glowing screen and pressed a few buttons. The console lit up and the sound of a large machine could be heard coming from another room. The pod began to glow faintly.

"By the way," asked Ritsu, "Why exactly are we wearing these?" He lifted one sleeve of his cloak, shaking it around.

The second figure stared at him impassively. "You know why."

"Yeah, but… I mean come on. We're inside our own base of operations! Maybe if it was one of those shady meetings we had to have years ago but here?"

The second figure sighed heavily. "You have no appreciation for theatrics, you know that? Go ahead and take it off if you want, I'm leaving mine on."

"Don't mind if I do."

"But you still have to call me by my title!" The voice was almost pouting.

"Don't mind if I do, Milady" said Ritsu sarcastically.

Without fanfare the cloak was tossed aside. Beneath was an androgynous face framed by bright orange hair. The eyes, much like the voice, held traces of malice.

The second figure came to stand in front of the pod as the machine whirred to life.

"Remember the mission. Once you've taken him, you must be sure to act so as not to arouse suspicion. No one must know of what's happening."

"For the thousandth time I've got it, just trust me" said Ritsu, clearly annoyed at the second figure's attitude.

With that, Ritsu closed his eyes. When they opened again, they were blank. All trace of emotion had gone from them. He gazed straight ahead with a dull stare, as if the person that had inhabited his body only moments before had somehow left and only the shell remained.

The yellow-haired one looked up from the console.

"The link has been successfully established, Milady."

"Excellent" came the voice of the second figure. A small smile spread beneath the shadow of her hood. "So it begins."

*********************************End of Chapter*********************************

Edit 11/02/14: Rewrote descriptive sections and much of the dialogue. It should read cleaner and smoother now.


	4. Unsettling Rumors, the Training Begins!

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

***********************************Chapter 4***********************************

"And that's what happened" Miku finished explaining to Gumi.

Although she had started off the conversation worried, Gumi was now completely at ease. It was just the same as always, with Miku greatly embellishing the details of some story. Though in this case "embellishing" was putting it lightly. Miku's explanation had consisted mostly of descriptions of her epic successes against all odds during her "tests" (complete with sound effects) along with a detailed explanation of how she expertly handled Luka's fragile emotional state after she broke down and apologized to her in the face of her sheer awesomeness.

But Gumi was a sharp cookie, and she was able to discern most of what had actually happened from the explosive action movie Miku had made it out to be. Basically, Miku was attacked and Luka saved her and accidentally agreed to test her. Miku passed the tests even though she wasn't supposed to and Luka revealed her true motives. After all was said and done, the only part of Miku's story that wasn't a gross exaggeration was the part where she called Gumi after it was all over.

And not for a second was she buying Miku's "I calmed down an emotionally unstable person" story. She knew very well that when someone started crying, Miku was the first one to excuse herself from the situation. But she was just happy to find out that Miku was ok.

However, none of that mattered right now. She had something she had to tell Miku, something important. She hadn't gotten a chance to when Miku started talking (some 3 hours previously) but now she had to tell her.

"Miku, it's great and all that you got the legendary assassin to teach you, but there's something really important that I have to tell you!" she said forcefully.

"Can't it wait?" Miku replied, "I'm basking in the glow of my own accomplishment here!"

"No! It can't wait! You've been gone so you don't know what's happened!" said Gumi, panic rising in her voice, "You haven't heard what they're saying! What everyone's saying!"

Miku wasn't the type to be worried, and she was certainly no stranger to how often Gumi freaked out about things, but something in the tone of her voice told her that this time was different. She could tell that this time, Gumi sincerely believed that there was something seriously amiss.

"What people are saying?" asked Miku quizzically, "What do you mean?"

"It's something the military found about a week ago" said Gumi, "They're saying that Vocaloidism… they're saying that it's a disease!"

And here Miku had _almost_ been worried. This was just another one of Gumi's conspiracy theories. It had to be. How could being a Vocaloid be a disease? That was crazy!

"Ok, you got me" said Miku, "Now what did you really want to tell me?"

"Miku, I'm being serious here!" said Gumi, and her tone backed it up, "They're saying that being a Vocaloid is an illness!"

"But that's insane!" said Miku, "_I'm _a Vocaloid Gumi. Heck, so are you! There's nothing wrong with us! It has to be a hoax!"

"That's what I thought at first too!" said Gumi, her nervousness more evident than ever, "But then there was evidence. You know, doctor testimony, medical reports, that sort of thing. People are starting to panic! They're worried that it might be contagious."

"Contagious? Yeah right!" said Miku, "I'm supposed to believe that I lived in a town full of people for most of my life with a contagious disease and no one got it?"

"Of course it isn't contagious." Said Gumi, "But people get scared easily, you know?"

"Ok then, what if it is a disease?" asked Miku, "Why is it dangerous?"

"I don't know!" said Gumi, "Nobody does! All we have to go on is what the news is telling us. But I'm not worried about Vocaloidism actually being a disease, I'm worried about the people who _are_ worried. You don't understand what it's like! People are clamoring for the government to get involved!"

"Ok, that's all fine and dandy, but has anything actually happened yet?" asked Miku.

"What? No, not yet, but…" Gumi began

Miku interrupted "Then what's the issue? If nothing's happened then there's nothing to be worried about."

"But what if…"

"No buts!" Miku continued, "If there's nothing happening yet then you don't have to worry!"

"What about all the people who are calling for government quarantine?" Gumi asked, "Don't I have a right to be worried about that? I mean, I'm a Vocaloid, aren't I? What if they come for me?"

"Gumi, there's a difference between being afraid and being prepared" responded Miku.

In an instant, Gumi knew she was right. Miku was right like she always was (well, about things that weren't related to school). She knew there was no logical reason for her to worry, only to prepare for what might happen. She supposed this was why she and Miku got along so well. Where she was the one prone to worrying, Miku was there to calm her down. And where Miku was the type to rush into things without thinking it through, Gumi was always the one to encourage her to take a step back and look before she leaped.

Miku then said "I understand that this has got to be a strange situation for you, but I promise that things will work out."

"How do you know that?" Gumi replied, still shaken.

"I don't" said Miku, "I don't know how, but they will."

In spite of herself, Gumi smiled.

"That's just like you" she said, "Always so sure of everything."

"Have I ever been wrong?" asked Miku.

"Only on every math problem you've ever done." Gumi joked. Somehow she felt better now. Talking to Miku always seemed to have that effect on her.

"Yeah, well, no one ever said I was the academic type" said Miku, now smiling herself, "Anyways, my new teacher is probably wondering where I am. It's been three hours since I shut myself in my room."

"_Your_ room?" asked Gumi, noticing Miku's possessiveness even though she hadn't even been Luka's student for half a day yet.

"Yeah, it is" replied Miku, completely at ease in this unfamiliar environment, "Though I think we'll have to do something about the walls. Pink really isn't my color. Don't worry. I'll call you again tomorrow. Miss you, bye."

Miku pressed the end call button on the phone-shaped contraption. It was so awesome to be able to speak to Gumi again after so long. She missed her a lot, but she would manage.

Even though she had told Gumi not to worry, she was still concerned about what was going on with the government. How could they possibly think that Vocaloidism was a disease? Then it occurred to her: maybe Luka knew something.

She got off the bed and opened the door. She found Luka in the living room lying on the couch with a bowl of popcorn watching a crime drama of some kind. She walked in and plopped herself down on a cushioned chair.

"Well, look who's finally decided to come out of hiding" said Luka, "I thought I was the hermit here."

"Cut me some slack. I haven't talked to my best friend in over a week" said Miku, "Speaking of which, she mentioned something that I wanted to ask you about."

"What might that be?" said Luka, turning the volume down on the TV.

"Well, she said that the military is saying that Vocaloidism is…" she started, but was cut off.

"What, the disease thing? Yeah, I saw that on the news" said Luka, her tone one of disgust, "It's nothing to worry about. It's just one of those things that people get worked up about. Give it a week or two, it'll blow over. That's the problem with people. They don't care if others are suffering in another country, so long as it doesn't affect them. The instant something happens at home, they panic and it's every man for himself."

"I don't think it's like that" said Miku, "I think they're just scared. They aren't trying to be uncaring or anything."

"Ahh, youth, so naïve" said Luka, "Believe me, I've met people. Give em' the chance and they'll always choose to be selfish. In any case, there's the issue of your training. Truth be told, ("That's a nice change, muttered Miku under her breath. Luka shushed her) I've never trained anyone before. So if it seems like I know what I'm doing, don't let appearances fool you."

"Don't worry, if you feel like you can't do it we'll just switch and I'll be the teacher" said Miku with a smirk.

"Don't get cocky kid. I might just break your arm for real this time", said Luka, but there was no hostility in her voice, "You should go to bed. If I'm actually going to teach you to fight, then you're gonna be up pretty early."

"Are you seriously giving me a bed time?" asked Miku.

"No, but I am giving you a wake up time. It's up to you if you're well rested when it gets here." She replied. _Heh, I'm enjoying this already_ she thought to herself.

As much as she hated being told what to do, Miku knew Luka was right. So she bid her goodnight and headed back to "her room".

Luka had told her that there was nothing to it. But at the back of her mind she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this "disease" scare than met the eye. Putting it aside, she decided to concentrate on the present instead. She fell asleep with her brain full of scenes of herself as a legendary fighter.

Five o' clock AM came earlier than Miku had expected. Luka, contrary to her usual lax attitude, was a drill sergeant when it came to mornings. A still half-asleep Miku was herded from the bathroom to the kitchen and out the front door in a matter of minutes.

Blinking groggily in the misty pre-dawn, Miku was acutely aware of just how absolutely unpleasant it was to be outside in the cold, wet, grass rather than her nice warm bed. She hoped the sun would rise soon, at least then it might warm up a bit.

Luka, however, seemed to be absolutely brimming with energy. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she took in nature's tranquility. It felt good to be up early again. She hadn't done any serious training like this in years and the expectancy was exciting.

As for the training itself, she had a few ideas, but she supposed that it would come mostly as they went along. It had been a long time since she had trained under someone herself but she was sure that after a little bit of practice, she would remember all the drills and exercises that her own master had put her through.

There was one thing that was bothering her though. Due to Miku's left arm being in a sling, they couldn't really do a lot of hand-to-hand just yet. This being the case, Luka had decided that she would concentrate on energy manipulation first. She had wanted to wait a while before getting into it, as it was somewhat advanced, but a few basic control exercises should be ok.

She spun around to face Miku, who was still standing a few feet from the front door looking like a zombie.

"Alright! Are we ready to get started then?" Luka asked, beaming at Miku, who responded by giving Luka her most professional unfocused stare.

Greeted by said stare, Luka replied "I'll take that as a yes then…"

"Alright." She continued, "Before we begin there's something that I feel I need to tell you. As I said before, I'm sorry about your arm, but here's the thing: compared to the injuries that you can get in real fights against powerful opponents, that's like scraping your knee. So I feel that it's only fair to warn you now that during your time with me, I'm not going to go easy on you. You will probably get hurt all the time during your training. The upside to this is that by the time we're done, you'll be able to take more punishment than you ever thought possible."

Miku continued to look bleary-eyed.

"Of course, the point in any fight is to try and avoid getting hit in the first place, but it's unreasonable to think that it will never happen. So I'm going to toughen you up enough that you'll be able to take a beating and keep getting back up."

Miku, even as tired as she was, liked the way that sounded. Not necessarily the part about taking a beating, but the part about getting up sounded good.

"Meh, it won't be that bad" Miku said, sure that Luka was exaggerating, "I'm confident that I can take the pain."

Luka smirked. "Pretty confident aren't we?"

Suddenly Luka leapt forward faster that Miku could see. In a fraction of a second she was mere inches away and she was not stopping. As unprepared for an attack as Miku was, she had absolutely no time to react.

Luka clenched her fingers into a fist and planted it straight into Miku's gut. It didn't carry nearly as much force as the blast from before, but it was plenty to drop Miku where she stood.

As she lay on the ground clutching her abdomen and trying to breathe with the wind knocked out of her, Miku heard Luka say "I may have forgotten to mention that I'll be the one delivering most of the injuries."

She tried to speak but all she could do was sputter and gasp for breath. Luka smiled down at her. "When we're done, you won't even feel a blow as weak as that."

If _that_ was weak, Miku didn't want to know what strong was. But what she already knew was that she was pissed. If Luka thought that this was going to keep her down, then she had another thing coming.

Luka turned around and started to walk back towards the house. She would give Miku a few minutes to steady herself before they started training.

"Hey … where do… you think… you're going" came Miku's voice from behind her.

Luka turned around and was surprised to see Miku already back on her feet. She had thought that blow would have her down for at least a few minutes. _Good resilience on this one_ she thought to herself.

"Didn't I tell you… that I could take the pain?" wheezed Miku, determined not to show weakness.

"You really are the real deal aren't you." said Luka, it wasn't a question, "Alright then, now that you know what to expect, we can get started."

Despite the pain in her stomach, Miku was excited. This was what she had come for. And she'd be damned if she was going to give up because it hurt.

"It's about time" said Miku with a smile, finally getting her breathing back under control.

"Glad to see you're not quite as soft as you look" said Luka, "But even though I'd love to keep beating you up, we'll be starting with something else. I did want to start with some basic fighting technique, but seeing as your arm's still in a sling, that isn't really an option. Instead I'd like to address something that I noticed during your 'tests'."

Luka drew some energy into her hand and held it there. In Miku's eyes, it glowed a faint pink and pulsed a bit.

"As you can see I have some energy in my hand" said Luka, "I'd like you to do the same."

Unsure of the purpose of this exercise, Miku complied. A flat drone brought a small amount of energy into her hand and she held it like Luka.

"Good" said Luka, "Now it's a simple matter to release the energy we have stored up." She put her hand up and shot the small orb into the air. Drawing another small sphere of energy into her hand, she again held it there. "But what if I'm not in a position where I can easily throw my energy at a target, like if there's an enemy behind me? That's where this comes in handy."

Luka thrust her elbow backwards. As she did so, the energy rippled back along her arm, leaving her body at the joint. The blast flew a short way and then disappeared.

"While I was testing you I noticed that you only ever manipulate your energy with your hands" said Luka, "To a fully accomplished Vocaloid, that isn't practical. You have to be able to release your energy from anywhere, not just your hands. For example… your feet!"

Luka kicked out to the side and sent a blast of energy out of her foot and into the ground nearby.

"Or maybe your knee!"

Luka acted as though she was grabbing an imaginary opponent and thrust her knee into where the hypothetical target's diaphragm would be. A small burst of energy issued forth.

"Or even your head."

Picking up a small rock, she smashed her head against it. Rather than knocking herself out, as Miku expected, there was a flash of pink and the rock was reduced to nothing more than a pile of dust.

"The point is, you can attack with any part of your body as long you can manipulate your energy efficiently. From what I've seen, you already know how to gather energy in your arms and even use it to increase your physical strength. The problem is that your arms are the _only_ place where you can gather it. We can focus on the more advanced stuff later. For now, I just want you to try gathering some energy in a different place. Try your legs. Don't try to release it, just gather it, hold it, and then let it dissipate."

_That felt good_ thought Luka. She hadn't known how she was supposed to act as a teacher, but she rather enjoyed barking out orders. But more than just that, it felt _right_. She could almost imagine that it was years ago and she and Haku were training with their master.

"I'll be back in three hours" said Luka, "Show me what you've been able to do then."

"You want me to just stand here for three hours moving my energy around?" asked Miku incredulously. It sounded a bit boring.

"Of course not!" said Luka, with a sly smile, "Feel free to sit down if you want!"

With that Luka turned around, smiling at her own wit, and walked back into the house.

Miku, however, was not smiling. Was training supposed to be this… uninteresting? Standing in the cold, wet grass by herself in the early morning doing nothing more than moving her energy around? Still, she supposed that it was probably a good idea anyways, even if it was about as fun as watching paint dry.

And so reluctantly, Miku began concentrating on her task.

Half an hour later, however, Miku was finding that perhaps it wasn't as boring as she had thought. The sensation of moving energy into her legs was completely new to her. She wondered why she had never thought of it before. She could feel the power circulating through her calves and thighs and it made her feel like she could jump twenty feet in the air or run a hundred miles an hour. The melody she imagined was a set of simple sixteenth notes running up and down from one end of the scale to the other. It was totally different from the steady pulsing bass that the energy in her arms required. It was very… _fast._ Miku decided that she liked fast.

Even though Luka had told her not to mess around with the energy too much, Miku was finding it hard to contain herself. She just had to try running like this.

She took a step forward, then another. Slowly she broke out into a jog. It was incredible. The instant she put a foot down, it was like it just propelled itself back up of its own will. Getting a little more into it, Miku sped up the pace. She was now easily running faster than she ever had before, and she wasn't even breaking a sweat! _This is awesome!_ She thought to herself.

She continued to think that until she crashed straight into the tree directly in front of her. As fast as she was going, and as amazing as it felt, she had neglected to think about how to stop. It turned out that the energy didn't just go away without some effort on her part. Knocked flat on her backside, Miku began to think that maybe this was a little harder than she had originally thought. Still, there was no real harm done, and it had certainly been an exhilarating experience.

Composing herself, Miku once again gathered energy in her legs and held it there. For a second time she felt the amazing rush of strength. She was careful to walk, rather than run, around the back of Luka's house until she spotted a small shed. The shed wasn't remarkable, but it did have a nice flat roof about six feet off the ground. Miku wasn't certain, but she was pretty confident that she could jump up there.

Flexing her leg muscles, Miku prepared for liftoff. Focusing on landing squarely on top of the shed roof, she jumped.

She had indeed been right about being able to jump higher. She ended up clearing the roof altogether (by a full four feet) and she landed in some bushes on the other side.

…_ow…_ she thought. Well that hadn't gone quite according to plan. Once again she had underestimated the force she was applying. The bushes that she had landed in had saved her from a broken leg.

A few minutes later, after extricating herself from the bushes and adjusting her clothes and her hair, Miku, ever the glutton for punishment, was eager to continue. Luka had told her specifically not to try releasing the energy but really, how could she resist?

If she could get a good blast off, she was sure she could knock a tree over. She could punch a tree over easily, so kicking one should be even easier. Once more she heard the quickly moving notes go up and down and drew her power from them. With sufficient energy concentrated and ready to be unleashed, she approached a nearby tree. Taking aim, she struck out with a powerful side kick.

At the same moment that her foot made contact with the trunk of the tree she released the pent up energy. However, rather than knocking over the tree as she had planned, the blast rebounded and sent her sprawling. Once again having been knocked to the ground by nothing more than her own stupidity, Miku was a little pissed. It was mostly at herself, but also at trees (Those leafy green bastards. They're always getting in the way). She had no idea how she had managed to direct the energy backwards but after being bested by plant life for the third time in one day, she began to think that maybe she needed a little more practice.

So Miku, however grudgingly, decided that it was best to actually listen to what Luka had told her and start small. She stood up again and started concentrating her energy. Sure, it was boring, but at least it didn't involve trees.

A short distance away, behind Miku's back, one of the house's curtains fluttered shut. Luka had herself a short laugh as she retreated from her spying post. She had known that Miku wouldn't be able to resist pushing the envelope, but it was still funny as hell to watch.

After nearly three hours of gathering and dissipating energy in her legs, Miku was beginning to get a feel for how it should be done. Her grasp on the technique was still tenuous at best, but at least now she could dissipate the energy at will without needing to let it go on its own.

As she started charging up once again, she heard a sound from behind her. It was a slow clapping. She turned around to see Luka standing in the doorway of the house. She had been so concentrated on her task that she hadn't even heard the door open.

Luka walked forward. "That's very good for a beginner" said Luka, "I thought it would take you at least a day before you got the hang of it."

"Yeah, it was easy" said Miku, "In fact, I bet…"

But before she could finish the sentence a small blast of energy knocked her flat again.

"What was that for!?" yelled Miku.

"Partly because you broke the rules, and partly because it's a lot of fun" said Luka, with a gleam in her eye.

So Luka had been watching the whole thing. Well great, now she probably wouldn't ever let her live that down.

Miku saw something out of the corner of her eye and glanced up. It was a hand. Luka was above her, offering her help up. Miku accepted the gesture sheepishly.

"Don't worry" said Luka, "When the time comes, I'll break the rules with you. But for now, the only thing you're going to get from improper control of your energy is hurt."

Back on her feet, Miku let out a "hmph" and crossed her arms. Luka reached out and patted her head. _Ah to be a teenager again_ thought Luka.

"Come on, I think you'll like the next part" said Luka, walking back towards the house.

"Is it knocking over trees?" asked Miku, eager to get her revenge on the foliage that shamed her.

"Even better" replied Luka, smiling, "Breakfast."

*********************************End of Chapter*********************************

Well there you go! Chapter five: "Unsettling Rumors, The Training begins!" This was a fun chapter to write for a couple reasons. First off, I got to write Gumi again, and she's always fun with her slightly spazzy personality. Also, I got to show a little more of Luka's true character. She's been away from people for a long time, so it makes sense that she would be a little guarded. Rest assured, as her time with Miku goes on the walls will crumble a little at a time.

As for the story, well, I suppose it speaks for itself! Vocaloidism a disease? Ridiculousness! That can't possibly be true! But is that really the case? And what does this mysterious disease have to do with those black-hooded figures? Few know. But you can be damn sure that I do. Stay tuned for more wacky antics, heart-wrenching drama, and plain old badass fight scenes.

Now, for those of you who don't check my profile for mid-chapter updates, I posted a little something on there a few days ago about my writing process and how I write scenes. I could make you go all the way there to read it, but since I'm such a nice person (and copy/paste is easy) I shall include it here.

"I would like to go off on a bit of a tangent and explain some of my writing process. While I'm writing Vocal Vision, I like to listen to Vocaloid music, as it helps my creative process. This is because the original idea for the story came to me while I was listening to Vocaloid music in my truck. It started off as a series of disconnected fight scenes in my head that I thought might be cool to see in a Vocaloid anime or something. All of the fights were set to whatever song I happened to be listening to at the time. Eventually, I took this idea and turned it into the story I'm writing now. The point it, when I'm writing, every scene I create is inspired by a different Vocaloid song, especially the fight scenes. I'm not going to reveal anything but some fights from upcoming chapters are based on such songs as Cyberpunk by Miki, Ochame Kinou (also known as the Fukkireta) by Teto, Popipo Vegetable Juice by Miku, Luka Luka Night Fever by Luka, Butterfly on Your Right Shoulder by the Kagamine twins, and of course you can't forget The Disappearance of Miku Hatsune. From now on, in my post-chapter discussions, I will be listing the songs that inspired me to write each chapter. I may even include links to Youtube videos of the songs so my readers can listen to my inspiration! I hope this little feature gives a little bit of insight into my creative process."

So there you go. And as promised, here are the little nuggets of inspiration that I used to create this chapter. Bear in mind that none of these songs are mine. They belong completely to their creators and I had no part whatsoever in making them.

"Our Star" – A duet by Miku and Gumi. I thought this song really captured the friendship that I want these two to have. They're always there for each other, and that's what counts. I used this song for parts of the phone call scene.

Link to original video: .jp/watch/sm11302054

Link to subbed Youtube video: watch?v=PO7F1HqiZT8

"Matryoshka" – Another duet by Miku and Gumi. This one sounds pretty crazy, but that's because I wanted a song that could kind of capture how Gumi was pretty worried. I used this for the portion of the phone call about the disease.

Link to original video: .jp/watch/sm11809611

Link to subbed Youtube video: watch?v=_JGaQ3g8WU4

"Motekke! Sailor Fuku." Well ok, this isn't technically a Vocaloid song originally, but I found a version of Miku singing it on Youtube and even though it's not the most well done thing I've ever heard, it makes me laugh every time I hear it. The lyrics have no meaning to the scene I used it to write, which is the training scene. It's just supposed to be background music for Miku running around making a fool of herself trying to control her energy.

Link to Youtube video: watch?v=Y2V22MvyLbc

Due to something that I can't figure out, the website name gets removed from the URLs I post. Probably due to copyright reasons or something. Anyways, all youtube videos have "youtube" before the .com and the original videos have "nicovideo" before the .com. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Well that's all I have time for, since if this gets any longer it'll be a chapter in its own right. Remember to keep checking for updates, read my profile, and above all else REVIEW! AnarchySong signing off!


	5. School Trouble! Could I Be Special?

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

**********************************Chapter 5************************************

Teto Kasane was late.

This was _always_ happening to her! It was a wonder that one person could manage to wake up late for school so many times.

She had a piece of toast in her mouth as she tried to simultaneously put on her shoes and tie her red hair up into her trademark drills. They weren't _really_ drills of course, that would be silly, but it's what her friends called them.

Speaking of friends, her best friend, Uta, was standing at the door waiting for her as usual.

"Come on Teto!" she said impatiently, "Hurry up or we're going to be late _again_!"

"Sorry!" said Teto, "Give me a second I just have to- WHAAAA"

There was a loud crash as Teto presumably ran into and subsequently knocked over a piece of furniture. Well that was nothing new. If it didn't happen at least once a week there was something wrong. To Uta's well-trained ear, it sounded like this time it was the ottoman from the living room.

With an exasperated sigh, Uta walked into the other room to inspect the damage. As she had thought, the ottoman was on its side and Teto was sprawled out on the floor, one shoe on her foot, one in her hand, and her toast lying on the ground in front of her.

"Honestly, how do you always manage to do this?" asked Uta, helping her friend up.

"Owie…" said Teto, rubbing her head.

"Awww… poor baby" said Uta, feigning concern, "Do you think we should skip school?"

Teto's eyes lit up for a moment "Really? Can we?"

The look of concern left Uta's face. "In your dreams. We have a biology test today and you're not getting out of it that easily."

Looking crestfallen, Teto was half led, half dragged to the front door.

"You two have a good day!" came a voice from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I know Mom" said Teto, still apprehensive about the aforementioned biology test.

"Oh, Uta, don't forget that you're invited to dinner this weekend!" came Teto's mother's voice again.

"I won't! Thank you Mrs. Kasane!" Uta replied at she dragged the woman's daughter out the door.

This is Teto Kasane. She's a bit of a klutz, but her head's in the right place. She's very shy around people she doesn't know. She's basically your average fifteen year old girl. She goes to school, has a best friend, and experiences all the things that come with growing up.

Her best friend is Uta Utane. She's the in the same class as Teto and she has a reputation for being a little weird. Her classmates might describe her as dark and withdrawn, but really she's just concentrated. If you were to walk up to her and start a conversation, she wouldn't shy away. And if you were ever to hurt Teto, well, let's just say that she's quite protective.

Her mother is Riko Kasane. Despite being only 36, she's already a widow. Her husband died ten years before when their house exploded from a gas leak. The fire department had found her and Teto amidst the wreckage, unconscious but alive. Since then, they've moved to a new town and started a new life away from all the bad memories. Other than that, she's your typical doting mother who loves her daughter. Oh, one more thing…

She's a Vocaloid.

She developed her powers when she was a teenager and, though she's not really a fighter, she uses her vocal powers to help her with the housework.

But as interesting as the daily life of a Vocaloid mother might be, she is not the focus of this story.

No, this story is about Teto. And even though right now her life may seem like the usual for a girl her age, all too soon everything she knows will be turned upside down.

For now though, let's just go to school.

The ringing of the morning bell always hurt Teto's ears. But the ringing didn't hurt her ears as much as the dread of the coming test scared her senseless. Her biology grade was shaky at best and she hadn't studied at all.

"Uta" she whined, clinging to her friend's sleeve, "What am I going to do?"

"Don't come crying to me now" she replied, "I told you time and again that you needed to study for this exam but did you listen to me? No."

Teto hung her head in defeat. She knew very well that what Uta was saying was the truth, but that didn't make her want to accept it any more. She would have to get creative on this one. Now, Teto was no stranger to passing tests in a less than honorable manner. Uta had allowed her to copy off of her on many occasions, but something told her that this time she wouldn't be so accommodating. It might have been the death glare from Uta that very clearly said "copy off of me and I'll kill you right here" but she couldn't put her finger on it.

As class began her teacher, Miss Omote, fixed the class with her usual hawk-like gaze and silence fell immediately. She was always like this on test days. Most of the time, she was the kind of teacher that every student dreamt about having. But when tests rolled around she turned into a demon.

"Ok class, as you know, today is your mid-term biology exam. Per usual, I will be watching very closely for any signs of academic dishonesty (she flashed a pointed look at Teto, who sank lower in her seat). Don't be nervous, do your best, and remember that this test determines a large portion of your grade."

Teto was sweating bullets now. What the hell had she gotten herself into? Alright, if that's how she had to play it, then she could play it like that. She would simply have to be more cunning and devious than Miss Omote could possibly hope to keep track of.

As the test began, she glanced around her for possible marks. Her seat was located in the very back of the class near the window, which, while it made for a great location to cheat without being found out, unfortunately did not provide many targets for said cheating.

Uta sat directly in front of her, but that wasn't really an option at this point, as Uta was guarding her paper like a watchdog. She moved her gaze to the seat to the right of Uta's. The boy who sat here was named Isao Akiro, but everyone called him "Papaya" on account of he always brought one in his lunch. He wasn't known for being anything more than an average student, but Teto supposed that she could settle for an average grade if it meant passing overall.

Her second option was a girl named Marisa Yun, who sat next to her. She didn't know anything about her other than her name, but judging off of appearances, she looked like the nerdy type. With her round glasses and bookish attitude, Teto concluded that she was the safer route.

After managing to copy a few answers without being noticed, Teto, being rather experienced at the art of plagiarism, decided that it was a good idea for her to copy answers from more than one source, to throw the teacher off. She switched her focus to Isao, who was about a third of the way done with his test. Luckily for Teto, he had skipped around a lot, so he only had a few of the answers she had already written down.

_This is too easy_ she thought to herself as she pretended to accidentally drop her pencil to get a better look at his paper. Miss Omote gave her a suspicious look but didn't say anything. _Whew, dodged a bullet there_ Lady Luck was on her side today.

About half an hour into the test, the smart ones in the class were almost finished with their exams. Now was where it got down to the wire. Between her two marks, she had managed to finish about two thirds of her exam, but the last part was the hardest. Essay questions were always tricky when it came to copying, because you couldn't use the exact wording that someone else did or it would give you away.

She wasn't too worried though, she was confident in her abilities, and there was too much at stake for her to back down now.

In front of her, Uta was finished with her test and was absentmindedly looking out the window. _Still can't see anything on hers_ she noted with disappointment. But that was ok. At the very least, she had enough to not fail her test now. _Time to go for extra_ she relished the feeling.

She decided to copy her last essay answer off of Isao because he was the closest to being finished. Despite the fact that she was going to pass, she still felt a certain obligation to finish the whole thing, a sort of "cheater's pride" if you will.

Things got intense. Isao was having a hard time deciding what to put down for his answer and Teto was becoming impatient. She began to fear that he might not even finish in time and, while that wasn't exactly a terrible thing, it made it easier to discern that she had cheated.

Her emotions were high. She hung on every carefully chosen word that flowed from Isao's pencil to his paper. With expert precision she read, altered, and wrote down his response on her own paper. Her heart was beating fast, fueled by the nervous feeling that she might be caught at any moment. The beats pounded in her ears like thunder. She was craning her neck to see when she experienced the strangest lightheaded sensation and suddenly…

SNAP!

Without warning, Isao's pencil broke in two. But not the way one would expect. It splintered down the whole length of the shaft from eraser to tip. Even the graphite inside was separated. _How the hell does that happen?_ Teto thought to herself. It wasn't exactly normal for a pencil to break vertically like that. She was musing over possible solutions when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Without looking she already knew who the hand belonged to.

"Well well well Miss Kasane, what do we have here?" came the bone-chilling voice of Miss Omote.

Teto sputtered in response. "B-b-but… the pencil… and the answer… and… and…"

The grip tightened.

Riko watched her daughter leave for school from the kitchen window. She smiled to herself. It was a good life they had here. Her daughter could go to school and have friends and grow up in a healthy environment.

At the same time, though, it wasn't always easy. Being a single mother made it difficult for her to provide for Teto and herself, but they got by somehow.

Riko had a job at the local women's college as head secretary for the Dean of Admissions. She was lucky to have such a job. The Dean was an old friend of her late husband and he had offered her the position when he heard about the tragedy. It was the reason they had decided to move there in the first place. The pay was good, not great, but it was enough.

The college was having an in-service day right now, which was why she wasn't at work. She glanced around the kitchen and a heavy sigh escaped her lips. She supposed that it was a good idea to use this day off to get some housework done, but she didn't feel like doing much. Grudgingly, she walked to the sink and turned on the water and began to wash dishes that had stacked up from the previous week.

She hummed as she worked. Being a Vocaloid, this was a more substantial action than a normal person humming. With the melody, she used her powers to scour the plates, bowls, and cutlery.

Her mind began to wander. Her thoughts meandered onto a subject that had crossed her mind many times since she had become a mother. Her husband had not been a Vocaloid, but since she was, she had often wondered whether or not her child would be one as well. While she was pregnant, she had thought about what it would be like to raise a Vocaloid child. Visions of herself teaching her offspring to control their powers made her smile.

But then Teto was born and she showed no signs of having the slightest bit of vocal power. No, it seemed that Teto was a completely normal child. Still, Riko couldn't help but wonder.

Throughout Teto's childhood, there had been… incidents. Little things that no one could explain. A piece of furniture would get turned upside down when baby Teto was the only one in the room, a lightbulb would shatter when no one was near it, they had had to replace the smoke alarms in their house 5 separate times because they kept going off when nothing was wrong. Every time these little things happened, they explained it away as one of life's little mysteries, but Riko had her suspicions.

Of course she hadn't ever said anything because who would believe her? But that hadn't stopped her from wondering.

And then when Teto was six her suspicions were confirmed. It all happened in the terrible accident that destroyed their house.

The official report listed it as a gas explosion, but it was much more than that. If one looked closely enough at the reports the police had written up, one would notice discrepancies. For instance, when the gas pipes had been inspected only a month before, there had been no problems. Also, though Teto, Riko, and her husband were the only ones home, there was another body found across the street that was determined to have been killed by the same explosion.

No one could explain these things away. No more of life's "little" mysteries. These were the kind of mysteries that, when solved, determine who we are as people.

Teto didn't know, but Riko did, and for Teto's sake she had sworn that she would never reveal to anyone the true events of that night.

Heaving another sigh, Riko turned her mind to other things. It didn't do anyone any good to dwell on the past, especially now that they had such a wonderful life. In any case, if Teto knew, it would only cause her unneeded pain, and that was the last thing Riko wanted for her.

Shifting her focus back to the stacks of dishes occupying the countertops, she decided that there were more healthy things to think about. After all, _murder_ wasn't something that normal people had to remember.

Teto's ears ached after the severe tongue-lashing she had received from Ms. Omote after she had been caught cheating. She was now scheduled to take the make-up test in a week. As she and Uta sat down to eat lunch, she pouted.

Uta just looked at her with an "I told you so" look on her face; and she told Teto as much.

"I hate to say I told you so… wait, no I don't. I totally told you so" she teased.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up" said Teto sulkily. She knew that she deserved it, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Seriously though, you should look at this as a blessing" said Uta, "At least this time you can actually study for it."

Bah, Teto hated studying. It was the bane of her existence. Every moment spent studying was a moment that wasn't spent doing something, anything, else. She wasn't the most academically inclined person. Couple that with her love of laziness and daydreaming, and it was no wonder that she didn't get along with studying.

Still, she knew that it was a necessary evil, and it would be made easier by the fact that Uta would help her if she used her best puppy dog eyes and asked really nicely. Even she could tolerate studying if she had her best friend to help her.

But something besides the impending cram session was still nagging at her. The way that Isao's pencil had broken straight down the middle just wasn't natural. It didn't seem possible for a pencil to do that on its own. And what was up with that crazy lightheaded feeling she had there for a second? She knew that she had been on edge about the possibility of being caught but her heart had felt like it was going to jump right out of her chest.

"Hey, I'll be right back, I gotta use the bathroom" said Uta, standing up.

Teto watched her go as she picked at her food, feeling unsettled by the events of the day.

"What do we have here?" came a voice from behind her.

_But I suppose things can always get worse_ she thought to herself. Spinning around in her seat she was greeted by the smirking face of Yumi Motone, her mortal enemy. She was flanked by her two cronies Suki and Sumi: identical twin sisters with mischievous personalities that followed Yumi around like pet dogs. They had a weird habit of speaking at the same time. It was actually kind of creepy.

Few girls could boast of being as much of an absolute terror as Yumi. She was known all around as the scariest and meanest person in school. Teto thought she was absolutely evil. Being a non-confrontational person, Teto was easily intimidated by people with stronger personalities than her. It was why she dreaded meeting new people: she was so easy going that you could pretty much get her to do anything.

Unfortunately, this also meant that it was very easy for Yumi to get inside her head.

"Looks like poor little Teto got caught cheating, how unfortunate!" she said, her voice positively dripping with sarcasm. Suki and Sumi laughed behind her.

Great. It looked like word of that morning's events had traveled quickly. Of course it would, though. People were always quick to jump on any bit of juicy gossip they could get their hands on. Teto just happened to be the unfortunate victim this time.

Taking a step closer, Yumi continued. "Don't worry, I understand. You can't expect someone so stupid to pass a test on her own merits. It's only natural that you would have to cheat."

That hurt. Teto wasn't exactly the type to brush off an insult and instantly come back with a witty comment. She might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but she wasn't stupid. What she was, however, was timid, and so Yumi's verbal onslaught was allowed to continue.

"Don't feel bad, though. There're plenty of other people who cheat. I mean, none of them are _quite_ as bad at it as you are, but just know that you aren't alone.

Teto sank lower in her seat. People around them were beginning to realize what was going on and the idle chatter slowly died down as everyone turned their attention towards her humiliation. Sensing this, Yumi moved in for the kill.

Leaning across the table, she continued her assault. "What you really have to consider is what this means for you later in life. If you're this much of a failure now, it can only get worse from here on out."

Teto couldn't remember ever being more embarrassed then she was right now. She wanted to just crawl inside of a hole and disappear. Her heart was beating fast as her face turned ever more red. Very fast, actually. Was it really normal for someone's heart to beat this fast?

Teto noticed something strange beginning to happen. As her pulse thundered in her ears, she glanced up into Yumi's smirking face and saw her hair start to move. It was barely anything. It could have been a stray gust of air. Then, without warning the movement intensified. Yumi's hair was suddenly jerked back violently by some unseen force.

Yumi let out a scream and turned on her two cronies.

"Suki! Why did you do that!?" she yelled, clearly angry.

Perplexed, Suki had a puzzled look on her face. "What do you mean?" she asked, "I didn't do anything!"

"Don't play dumb!" yelled Yumi, "You just pulled my hair!" She turned to Sumi. "You saw it, right? She pulled my hair just now!"

Sumi sputtered, clearly thinking that Yumi had gone crazy. "I… she…"

Before Sumi could continue however, Teto heard a welcome voice from behind her.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing to Teto?"

"Uta!" said Teto, relieved that her savior had come.

Uta advanced on Yumi like an animal on the attack. Walking straight up to her she jammed a finger into her chest and looked her straight in the eye. With venom in her words she spoke.

"Anyone who has a problem with Teto has a problem with me" she said, "I don't want to see you bothering her ever again, you got it?" Yumi was about to argue but the look in Uta's eyes shut her up.

"W-whatever. It's not like we'd ever waste time on losers like you anyways." She said, "Come on, let's get out of here guys."

Sumi and Suki followed her as she left, still giving each other confused looks as to what had just happened.

Looking around, Uta noticed that everyone was still watching.

"Well? What are you all looking at?" she said, addressing the mob around them, "Show's over, nothing to see here!"

The crowd dispersed as Uta made it clear that she wanted them gone. Turning around, she rushed over to Teto, who was still trying to decipher exactly what had just happened.

"Teto, I swear you have got to learn to stand up for yourself" said Uta.

"Yeah, I know, but did you see…" began Teto.

"If you don't grow a pair, so to speak, people are just going to keep walking all over you" Uta continued.

"But the hair…" Teto tried to interject once more.

"Come on" Uta said, oblivious to Teto's concerns, "It's almost time to go back to class."

And so as Teto followed Uta out of the cafeteria, her confusion had not lessened at all. What on earth was going on today? Could there be something wrong with her?

For the rest of the day, Teto found it impossible to concentrate on her schoolwork. Her mind was simply too crowded with unanswered questions and curiosity. As she stared out the window at the back of the class, she let her thoughts wander. They did not return until later that day.

After Teto got home from school, she said a hello in passing to her mother and rushed straight to her room. Around the end of the school day, an idea had struck her. It wasn't like she hadn't considered it before. Being the daughter of a Vocaloid, how could she not?

She was considering, of course, that she might be a Vocaloid herself. She was skeptical, obviously. She hadn't shown any signs of being one before, why should today be any different? Still, she couldn't help but wonder. She had to see for sure.

But it wasn't like she had any idea what she was doing. She didn't even know where to start. She sat down on her bed and looked around her room.

"If I was a Vocaloid, what would I do?" she said to herself. Of course it was a useless question to ask, considering that she didn't know anything about being a Vocaloid in the first place.

She spotted one of her stuffed animals sitting on a pile of clothes on the other side of the room. An idea occurred to her: _A real Vocaloid could move that Teddy Bear no problem…_ That's right… a Vocaloid would easily be able to use their powers to move an object, it was a basic skill. She'd seen her mother do it plenty of times.

Concentrating hard, Teto looked directly at the bear and imagined it toppling off of the pile. She could see it in her mind. It was so easy to just visualize it. However, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how much effort she put into her vision, the only thing she managed was a headache.

Teto sighed, maybe she wasn't a Vocaloid after all. Then she recalled a conversation that she had once had with her mother when she was very young. She had asked her what it was like being able to use her powers.

"Well Teto" said her mother, thinking for a moment, "It's like hearing a song in your head. Imagine that you can hear the most beautiful music you've ever heard and that the music can… make things happen around you..."

Teto just looked at her confusedly. Riko let out a sigh. How could she explain to someone who wasn't a Vocaloid what it was like to be one?

"Maybe it would be better if I showed you" said Riko.

With that, she started humming a simple tune. She raised her hand towards an apple sitting in a bowl on the kitchen table. Slowly the piece of fruit rose into the air. Riko started to sing.

_Floating… Gently…_

Her voice had a graceful lilt to it.

_Flying to you love…_

The apple began floating through the air towards them.

_I hope that… You see dear…_

The apple hovered above Teto.

_That my love is true._

The apple dropped into Teto's hand. Her eyes were as big as dinner plates as she sat amazed by her mother's abilities.

"It's something you _feel. _Not something you do" said Riko softly, ending her song.

Back in the present, Teto realized what she was missing. It had to be the music! Vocaloids were all about the music! Teto was excited. She just knew that she had it this time. She could imagine the look on her mother's face when she came down and started moving things around. Her heart started beating faster in anticipation.

She once more focused all her intention on the stuffed bear. In her head, she imagined the most powerful rock-ballad she could think of and thought as hard as she could about moving that bear. She willed it to be so with every fiber of her being. She screwed her eyes shut, her face turned red, and her pulse pounded in her ears. The excitement in the air was palpable.

Teto heard a sound and looked up. For a fleeting second, she believed that she had done it, but when she looked, the bear remained unmoved. If it wasn't that, then what had the noise been?

A second knock came on Teto's door and her mother's voice sounded directly after.

"Teto, honey, are you OK? You've been in there since you got home from school."

"Yeah mom, I was just… taking a nap" Teto replied, disappointed that her efforts had failed.

"Ok, just checking sweetie" came Riko's voice again (Teto rolled her eyes) "It's almost time for dinner so come downstairs."

Depressed over her failure to manifest some sort of powers, Teto got up and walked to her door. She shot one last glance at the Teddy Bear, which was still perched atop the pile of clothing, mocking her. She stuck her tongue out at it and walked downstairs.

But as she left her room, she failed to notice a long spidery crack in the wall behind the bear, hidden from view by the pile of clothes; a crack which had not been present until just a few moments before…

*******************************End of Chapter***********************************

Well here's my belated Halloween update. I am so so so so sorry that it has taken me so long to update! I just got a new job and classwork has been picking up as of late. But excuses aside, this chapter was one that I have been looking forward to writing for a long time. Teto is the focus of one of my main planned storylines, so you'll be seeing a lot more of her, I promise.

In this chapter I wanted to focus a lot on developing Teto as a character since she's so important. It's important that the reader knows that Teto lives the life of a normal girl, and she doesn't have Miku's brash personality. She's shy around people she doesn't know, and goofy with people she does. She has a big heart and even though she might not be the brightest girl around, she makes up for it with her winning attitude.

I did introduce some original characters in this chapter which I originally did not intend to do at all at any point in the story. However, as I progressed, I came to realize that it just wouldn't be possible to write this story without a few. As such, I only introduced one OC this chapter that will play any major role in the story (and a couple who probably won't ever be seen again) and even then it's a limited one. It always makes me cringe when someone messes up a good piece of fanfiction with OCs that shouldn't be there (not to say that they aren't awesome when implemented correctly. See "Two halves" – a Naruto fic that ranks in my top three) so I try to stay away from it as much as possible.

I'm sure some of you are lamenting the absence of Miku and Luka in this update but fear not! Both Miku and Luka will be back in chapter 7! Miku's training is beginning to get serious! Can she handle it? Or will she crack under the pressure? And what about the rumors of a government quarantine? Are they just gossip? Or is there something more sinister happening behind the scenes? You'll have to wait to find out!

Now as I've said before I'm making it a recurring feature in this story to list the songs that inspired me to write each chapter. Well, here's the list for this edition of Vocal Vision:

"Teto Territory" – Touhou is an amazing series of games and I urge anyone who doesn't know about it already to go look it up. The series has some of the best music I've ever heard and when I heard it combined with Vocaloid, it was a match made in heaven. The original song is Kero ⑨ Destiny by Silver Forest. The version I used was a version with Teto as the singer and custom lyrics. This song is meant to embody Teto's goofy nature and happy personality. I used it as an inspiration for her overall character.

Subbed youtube video: watch?v=JUBbigtfCWs

"Packaged" – I feel that this song really captures the shy side of my interpretation of Teto. When I hear this, I imagine a girl who hides her emotions from those around her. This is how I see Teto. I used this song to help me write Teto's feelings while she's being accosted by Yumi. I also use it as the theme for her mysterious past.

Youtube video: watch?v=JbljT7ADPek

As always I claim absolutely none of these songs as my own work. They are amazing compositions that I did not make and all credit goes to their original creators.

Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website names in this story. All youtube links are preceded by "youtube" if you are interested in viewing them for yourself.

Ok, that about wraps it up for this edition of Vocal Vision! If you feel so inclined (and I hope you do) I encourage you to REVIEW PLEASE! I love reviews! I thrive on them! If you are reading this for the first time or if you're a returning fan, please give me your feelings on my work! If by some chance someone reads this years from now, I urge you to not take a lapse in time as a sign that reviews are not welcome! I check my email regularly for any reviews and I (usually) respond to reviews that I receive. So from the couch I am sitting on right now, this is AnarchySong signing off!


	6. The Government Did What?

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

**********************************Chapter 6************************************

"Wrong again!" yelled Luka, knocking Miku on her butt for the umpteenth time that day. It was high noon, and they still hadn't gotten anywhere since they started.

"You've got to be kidding me!" came Miku's protest, "That was perfect!"

They had moved on to physical training. With daily treatments from Luka, Miku's arm had healed up nicely and she was now able to use it normally again. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a problem.

It had been three weeks since Miku started her training. The spring breeze was beginning to give way to summer heat and the days were getting longer. She was learning startlingly fast but had recently hit a bit of an impasse. She had discovered that blocking just was not her thing. She was a hothead when it came to fighting and her usual strategy was to rush in guns blazing and completely overwhelm the opponent. Luka had shown her that this was a stupid idea and had told her as much.

"I keep telling you Miku, you have to keep your guard up!" came the voice of her teacher, "If you only try to go on the offensive your opponent will be able to figure out your movements in an instant!"

Miku was frustrated, to say the least. She did not like waiting, and that's exactly what blocking made her do. _Wait_ for your opponent to make the first move, _wait_ for an opportunity to strike, _wait wait WAIT!_ She was getting sick of it. She was a person of action!

"Ok, let's try this again" said Luka, getting into her stance once more, "You know the drill. I'm going to come in from your left. I want you keep your guard up and use your forearm to block my punch."

Miku put her guard up again half-heartedly. Luka charged in, circling around to Miku's left side, leading with a vicious haymaker. _Ok, enough is enough_ thought Miku. This time she was definitely getting this right.

As Luka came in, Miku brought up her left arm and swiped the blow aside. Success!

"Good! Now the right!" yelled Luka, swinging in low from the opposite side.

Miku pivoted and brought her right arm down, sweeping Luka's strike aside for a second time.

"Finally! You're making progress!" yelled Luka, obviously glad that Miku was finally getting it, "Good job, now the left leg!"

"What!?" yelled Miku. Before she could react, however, Luka's right leg came in and swept her legs right out from under her. She crashed to the ground once again.

"Well, you're certainly making progress." Said Luka, "Next we can start working on kicking technique."

"I wish you would have told me that before you did it. Ouch." Said Miku, rubbing her hip where she had landed.

"Miku, you have to learn to think on your feet, not off of them." Said Luka, grinning as she helped Miku up.

"Ha ha, very funny." Said Miku, though she still smiled at the lame joke, "Anyways, it has to be lunch time by now, right?"

"Is food all you ever think about?" said Luka exasperatedly, "You're going to eat me out of house and home you know."

She had a right to be worried. Since Miku had started living with her, her costs of daily living had tripled.

Miku, on the other hand, didn't pay it much heed. In her usual manner she failed to think about where the food she ate came from (and who paid for it) and focused more on the eating part. However, one of Miku's many questions about Luka's lifestyle had been answered the first time the fridge had run out of food.

As it turned out, Luka actually went shopping. At a store. Like a normal person. Miku couldn't believe it. She was sure that Luka had some strange and mysterious way of obtaining the food that she ate.

As for the internet, cable, and certain other amenities, Miku was still as confused as ever, and she doubted that she would ever find out just how Luka managed to get them. She had imagined that Luka ran a really long cable to the nearest town, however impossible it seemed.

When they had gone into town for food that first time, Miku got a glimpse of just how much Luka feared being recognized. She refused to go out without first changing her hair style and her normal choice of clothing. And when Luka changed her hair style, she didn't just put it up or something, she went the whole nine yards. It took her an hour to dye her hair completely black while Miku lounged around in the living room, complaining about how hungry she was. It took her only a moment to remove the dye with her powers when they got back ("Well you couldn't expect me to keep my hair that terrible color, could you?").

They went shopping in Kuroki town, since it was closest. Miku had gotten somewhat better at using vocal energy to increase her running speed, and she had been eager to try it out, but to her dismay, Luka had forbidden the use of powers for the duration of the trip, just on the off chance that someone in town could use Vocal Vision. Now _that_ was being paranoid.

The financial side of Luka's life was also a mystery until this shopping trip. As it turned out, Luka only ever paid in cash. This made sense, as she would never buy a credit card and didn't really have a valid billing address anyways. Where the money came from was also a bit of a surprise. Luka had a huge Vocalock-brand safe embedded in the wall of her room. Inside of it was more money than Miku had ever seen in her life. Luka said it all came from her days as the "Legendary Assassin". Apparently, it had been quite a lucrative practice.

As they sat down at the table to eat lunch (soup and sandwiches), Luka pulled out a bottle of something that Miku had never seen before (it looked like cola). She offered Miku a glass of it and Miku, not being one to turn down free soda, accepted it gratefully.

To her surprise, however, it most certainly was not soda. It tasted like somebody had taken rotten strawberries and squeezed the juice out of them. It burned her throat and she choked and sputtered on it when she tried to swallow.

"Ugh! What the hell is this stuff?" said Miku, disgusted.

"Oh, that's sunshine berry wine." Said Luka, taking a sip herself.

It took a moment for Miku's brain to process what Luka had just said, partially because she had never heard of that particular beverage and also because the name sounded vaguely (read: very much) like an alcoholic drink.

"Wait, you just tried to give me alcohol!? I'm a minor!" yelled Miku, "And besides! It's like, 12:30 in the afternoon! Why are you drinking now!?"

Luka looked at her like she was crazy for a moment, before a look of understanding spread across her face.

"Oh! That's right! Children don't drink in this country." Said Luka, laughing a bit, "I never remember that."

"HOW DID YOU FORGET!?" Miku said, flabbergasted that someone could be so ignorant.

"Oh that's right! I never told you, did I?" said Luka, as if it had just slipped her mind, "I grew up in a different country. One where the customs are completely different."

Miku supposed that made sense, but she still found it absolutely ridiculous.

"Ok… how different are we talking here?" said Miku, slightly curious.

"Well, you know how I always wear these clothes?" said Luka, "This is what everyone wears in Lucentia. It's a relatively small nation that's far away from here in the east."

"So that's why you're always dressed like a weirdo." Said Miku, nodding her head in understanding. She received a flick to the forehead for that one.

"Don't be disrespectful" said Luka, slightly annoyed, "Anyways, yes, that's why I dress this way. It's also why a lot of my furniture is different than furniture from here. It's made from glazewood trees, which don't grow in this part of the world."

"I guess that makes sense" said Miku, pieces staring to fall into place in her head. Ever since she had woken up in her bedroom that first morning, she had wondered about the dresser and shelves in there. They looked so… strange. And there were also…

"Hey, what about all the animal statues and stuff?" asked Miku. Now that Luka was sharing, the floodgates of Miku's curiosity had been opened.

"You mean the Oniigasen?" asked Luka, like it was a term in common use.

"The oni-who?" asked Miku, once again confused.

"The Oniigasen" said Luka, "They're animal spirits and they're considered sacred in Lucentia. It's not uncommon for a family to have six or seven Oniigasen around their house. They're sort of like the house's protectors. Having them around is supposed to bless the people living there with good fortune since the spirits are watching over them."

"So the statues are supposed to make your life better… ok…" said Miku, not really understanding how people could believe in this stuff. She followed up with a very blunt: "Sounds like a load of hooey to me."

Another flick to the forehead later…

"What did I say about being disrespectful?" said Luka, once again annoyed, "Just because you don't understand someone else's way of life doesn't mean it's any less valid than your own. I for one am happy to have the Oniigasen in my house and I try to live by the principles they represent."

"So now they each mean something different?" said Miku, beginning to get a little bored with the theology lesson the conversation was turning into.

"Of course" said Luka, again like it was common knowledge, "There's the tiger, who represents strength, the monkey, he represents a sound mind, then there's the dog for loyalty, the deer for kindness, the honeybee for resourcefulness…" Luka noticed that Miku had stopped paying attention and was staring off into space. "And who can forget the Miku, who represents airheadedness."

"Huh, wha?" said Miku, snapping back to reality, "oh right, yeah, the animals and they mean stuff. Got it. I'm gonna go watch TV."

Luka sighed as Miku picked up her dishes and walked into the living room to plop down in front of the television. Sometimes that girl could be so frustrating. Didn't she care about anything that did have to do with fighting or eating?

Suddenly from the other room came a loud shattering noise. It sounded like Miku had dropped her dishes. Luka rushed to inspect the damage and was about to start telling Miku off when the image on the Television caught her eye. All at once a wave of uneasiness settled over her.

Miku slowly turned to face her, her complexion pale and an expression of mixed fear and anger contorting her features.

"You said that it would blow over…" she said, her emotions evident in her voice, **"Does **_**THAT **_**look like blowing over to you!?"**

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

As Teto walked home from school, she was frustrated. She had not given up on trying to manifest some sort of vocal powers for the last several days. But no matter how hard she tried, or how much she strained, she couldn't seem to make anything happen. It was weird though, there seemed to be a lot of things wrong with their house as of late. There were cracks on the walls in her room and the hardwood floors were scratched up all over the place. Neither her or her mother could figure out where all the damage had come from but they supposed it must have been there the whole time and they just didn't notice. After all, how could it just happen all of a sudden?

_Yeah, but still no vocal powers whatsoever_ she thought to herself. She had run out of ideas. She had tried pretty much every type of music she could think of and nothing seemed to work. Everything around her just stayed the same. She let out a despairing sigh and slumped a little.

Uta, who was walking next to her, had noticed something was up but Teto had convinced her that it was nothing. She had made up some lame excuse about being tired to explain why she was distracted all the time.

It was this distraction that had almost prevented her from passing her makeup exam for biology. She had barely passed as it was, her marks being nothing more than adequate and only tentatively at that. Still, she had passed, and that was enough for her. She was just glad to be done with it. As she had suspected, the studying had been hell. Having her mind focused on other things hadn't helped either.

But none of that mattered now! School was out for the summer anyways! And to Teto, that meant only one thing: she could be as lazy as she wanted to be, and no one could say anything about it. She perked back up a bit as she remembered this. _Maybe it's not all bad _she thought with a smile.

"Hey! Earth to Teto!" came Uta's voice, shaking her out of her reverie, "Anyone home?"

"Huh? What? Who?" said Teto, coming back to reality, "Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about all the cool things I get to do now that school's out."

"I assume you mean sleep?" said Uta, aware of Teto's affinity for naps.

"What else?" replied Teto. The two shared a laugh.

_I guess there _are_ things more important than being a Vocaloid… _Teto thought to herself, realizing that she had it pretty good. Still, it would be awesome to see the look on Yumi's face if she could use her powers to get back at her.

They walked past a strange sight. A few police vehicles were parked in a line on the opposite side of the street accompanied by two jeeps emblazoned with the army's coat of arms. It was a rare sight to see military vehicles anywhere near here. Near one of these, an officer and a uniformed military official were speaking.

"So, Captain, I trust that we have your department's full cooperation in this?" said the military man, addressing the cop who was reading over an official-looking document with a grave expression on his face.

"Of course, sir" he responded. Taking his eyes off the paper in his hand he fixed the man with a troubled stare. "But… are you sure these are your orders? It doesn't seem right…"

"Unfortunately, yes. These come straight from the top." The uniformed man replied, "General Stahl himself has coordinated this operation and most of the general public has already been informed. Your town is one of the last in the country to be involved, being so far out of the way. We'll begin full scale implementation tomorrow morning."

"I hope the government knows what it's doing here…" said the officer, shaking his head, "These are dark times we're living in."

The two men shook hands and left to go about whatever task had been set to them.

Teto and Uta remained blissfully unaware, however, as they were engrossed in their plans for what they envisioned to be the best summer vacation ever.

As they reached the front gate of Teto's yard, they said their goodbyes and promised to see each other first thing the next day. Teto waved as Uta disappeared down the street towards her own home. She thought how lucky she was to have as good a friend as Uta. She imagined that not every friend would be as accommodating of her laziness as she was.

In a particularly good mood, Teto opened the door of her house. Things were looking up for her. So what if she hadn't discovered her powers yet? That didn't mean she didn't have them! She _must_ have them! It only made sense! And she had all summer to figure it out.

Whistling as she took off her shoes she walked towards the kitchen (Noting that she only bumped into _one_ thing on the way there. Today really was a good day!). As she rummaged through the fridge she knew that there was nothing that could possibly ruin this amazing day. If only she knew how wrong she was.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of muffled crying coming from the other room. Her unassailable good mood told her that her mother was probably watching a sad movie, but the concerned daughter in her urged her to check it out anyways.

As she walked into the room, she glimpsed her mother sitting on the couch, practically shaking with despair. _Ok, definitely not a sappy romance flick_ she thought to herself. She practically tripped over herself in her haste to comfort her mother (though thankfully her clumsiness was temporarily disabled by worry and she managed to stay upright).

"Mom! Oh my God what's wrong!?" her voice nearly cracking as she saw her mother's tear-stained face. Apparently she had been at this for a while. She hugged her close and her mother practically latched onto her, sobbing the entire time.

She was extremely confused. Had someone died? A relative, perhaps? What could possibly be causing her mother this much pain? She received no answers, however, as it seemed her mother was incapable of speaking at the moment. She only continued to sob and hold Teto closer.

_What on earth could…_ but her mind froze as she turned her head to the side and caught a glimpse of the television.

For the first time in several weeks, Teto Kasane was glad that she was not a Vocaloid.

Very glad.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

"Quarantines…" said Miku, still dumbfounded. She had said the word dozens of times over the past hour, but she still didn't understand how it could have happened.

Luka was likewise at a loss for more effective vocabulary. She had been sure this was just another crazy conspiracy, how could it have gained this much momentum? There's no way that being a Vocaloid was a genetic disorder or a disease or whatever they were calling it, that was as plain as day.

In the past hour they had learned that events had come to pass that seemed ridiculous… no, not just ridiculous but impossible. The news report had informed them that the government had ordered nation-wide quarantines for all Vocaloids. Apparently, the "threat" of "contamination" had become so severe that it was the only course of action left. These quarantines were to be spearheaded by the DCMA (the Disease Control and Management Agency) and enforced by the military. The protocols being put into effect stated that all Vocaloids were to be registered and quarantined until such a time that a cure could be found. Until that time, they were a threat to the general populace and must be contained.

Of course these announcements hadn't come without widespread dissent and protest, not just from Vocaloids but from the rest of the population as well. Most people (non-Vocaloids) were of the opinion that the government was doing the right thing by protecting its country's citizens. However, there was a large movement that had started practically over-night that vehemently protested and opposed the tactics being used by the government. Even though they were assured that all Vocaloids would be kept safe and sound and would be provided with food and water, the protesters argued that it was an affront to their basic rights as humans.

But every coin has two sides. While there were those that protested this treatment of Vocaloids, there were also those who embraced it. An entirely new faction of Vocaloid haters had banded together to form the NAVT (Normals Against Vocal Tyranny).

An entirely new form of discrimination had divided the nation, and it had only taken a single day.

Miku's broken dishes still lay on the floor of the living room, the now cold soup soaking into the carpet. It was going to leave a nasty stain but neither of them cared enough to clean it right then. It was nothing short of a miracle that those dishes were the only thing that had been broken. Upon hearing the announcement, Miku had been filled with such a rage that the house was lucky to be left standing.

"How could this have happened?" she said in disbelief, "How could the government possibly think this is a good idea?"

"Miku, I know this must be hard to take, even more so because I assured you that it wouldn't come to this" said Luka, trying to be consoling, "But I don't think this is the government's doing."

"What do you mean?" asked Miku. It said right there on the television that the _government_ had ordered this.

"There has to be something else going on here" said Luka, who was viewing the news broadcast with skepticism, "This kind of thing can't just _happen_ like this. It should have taken years to get to this point, and it probably never would have in the first place unless…"

"Unless what?" said Miku, eager to grasp at any alternative reasoning she was given.

"Unless… I don't know yet" Luka replied, still mulling over possibilities in her head, "But there has to be some other force at work here."

"But what kind of 'other force' could cause this?" said Miku incredulously, "It's not like you can just take over the government and start doing whatever you want without someone noticing!"

"I know… but still…" said Luka. She didn't know what was going on, but what she could sense was that this was only the beginning. She wasn't about to tell that to Miku though, she was stressed enough as it was. This was exactly the kind of situation that collided with Miku's personality. She needed to be the hero, to be the one that could come in, beat up the bad guys and save the day. But this was an enemy she couldn't see, much less fight.

"You know Miku, your friend back home is probably pretty worried right now" said Luka, eager to get Miku's mind off the topic of dark forces manipulating the government.

Miku looked like she had been punched in the gut.

"Oh my God… Gumi! I'm the worst friend ever! I have to call her right now!" she exclaimed, rushing off to her room to call Gumi.

The phone rang and rang, and Miku feared that Gumi wouldn't pick up. Finally there was click and a shaky voice came across from the earpiece.

"…Miku?" she sounded like she had been crying her eyes out.

Dark forces be damned. If they made Gumi feel like this, then there was no power on heaven or earth that could stop her from kicking their asses, whoever "they" might be.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

It had taken the better part of an hour for Miku to get Gumi to calm down enough to speak coherently. After she did, Gumi was still so shaken up that her voice wavered and broke at random intervals.

"Gumi, this is what I was talking about before" said Miku. Now that she had had time to process the situation, she was coming to a few conclusions. "There's a difference between being worried and being prepared."

"I know you s-s-said that" said Gumi, hiccupping a little as her crying subsided, "B-b-but what do you mean?"

"All it means is that it pays to have a plan" said Miku. It did not occur to her that she was the one who always rushed in without thinking. "You mark my words: I'm going to get to the bottom of this. I'm going to find the people responsible, yell at them a bit, kick their asses, then everything should be fine, right?"

Gumi thought that was all fine and great but as usual Miku had left out the part where she actually figured out how to accomplish any of what she said she was going to do. Gumi was trying very hard to understand what Miku was getting at and she felt that she had a pretty good grasp of it. The only question left to answer was exactly what "being prepared" entailed.

"Miku... I'm not quite as… imaginative as you are when it comes to having a plan" Gumi believed in practicality over anything else when it came to being ready for things. She could study for a test, plot out a work schedule, etc. etc. But what was she supposed to do in this situation? What was she even preparing for? The quarantine was in effect, what else could happen…

But as I've stated before, Gumi is a smart cookie. Being a technological prodigy came with perks, and one of those perks was a brilliant mind. Despite her current emotional state, Gumi's brain had been in overclock mode since she had heard the news. Whether she knew it or not, she was perfectly suited for making a plan for this situation. However, being so brilliant also meant that Gumi had a good idea what would come next from a logical standpoint. If allowed to continue, this wouldn't stop at just a nationwide quarantine, the next step would be the removal of Vocaloids altogether, as their continued presence would pose more of a threat, at least in the eyes of the government. And then, (Gumi shuddered a bit at the morbidity of her own thought processes) when the costs of containing thousands of Vocaloids finally rose too high, the only option left was… extermination.

Miku's voice brought her back from the brink of despair, just as it always did.

"Not as imaginative? Yeah right!" said Miku, her fighting spirit unaffected by the dreadful atmosphere, "If anything you're _more_ imaginative than I am! Who was it that designed the phones we're talking on right now? You. And who's the smartest person in our home town? You. Who always believes in having a plan? YOU! With your brains, you could probably come up with a better plan than I ever could! And it probably wouldn't even have to involve the risk of death or serious injury!"

Gumi didn't know how Miku did it. Honestly, it stumped her every time. Every logical fiber of her being (So basically all of her) was telling her that it was a ludicrous idea to even think that any of Miku's suggestions could work, and yet she felt compelled to go along with them. They were brash, impulsive, and usually dangerous, but they gave her hope, and that, more than anything else was how Gumi found the strength to carry on.

Miku was right. She should have known it from the beginning. Even though logic dictated that Miku was clearly insane, she was still _right_. Suddenly, irrationally, Gumi had the strangest sense that everything was going to work out. But not just that. It was going to work out because _she_ was going to make sure it did. When they were growing up, Miku had always looked out for her. She was sure that if Miku was there now, she would have already been arrested for assault. Miku wouldn't take this lying down, why should she?

After a long pause, Gumi spoke again.

"I…" she stammered, trying to find the right words, "I think I know what you mean."

"You do?" asked Miku, sounding genuinely surprised. It wasn't like Gumi to just agree with her. "You don't think my plan is stupid or foolish? Really?"

The response Miku got was still shaky, but there were undertones of confidence now.

"Oh no, I think it's both. That doesn't mean I can't agree with you, though. Your plan is great, it just needs some… tweaking."

"Well, it's not much of a plan yet…" said Miku. Wait. When had their roles been reversed? Gumi was the skeptical one, not her. "I mean yeah! It's a great plan! The best! Like me!"

With Gumi's newfound optimism, the two began scheming. They didn't get anywhere, but it was still nice to feel like they were accomplishing something. When they finally said goodbye, it was with the promise that they would speak again very soon, after they had both come up with some ideas.

But as the line went silent, and Miku's voice disappeared, Gumi once again felt that same sense of helplessness and non-direction. She mentally chided herself. No. Not this time. She wasn't going to fall back into that. Drastic times called for drastic measures, however scary and worrisome those measures might be.

Gathering her thoughts, Gumi sat down at her desk and did what she always did when she didn't know where to start.

Brainstorm.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

Luka heard Miku's door open almost two hours after it had shut. She expected that Miku had needed to do some serious pep-talking during that call. She also expected that Miku had a lot of questions and that she was in for a lengthy discussion. Well, she was right about the questions, but the discussion was another matter. What actually happened surprised her.

Miku walked straight up to her, looked her in the eyes, and said:

"I think it's time we stepped up my training."

Luka was surprised for a moment, then she smiled.

"What did you have in mind?"

**********************************Elsewhere***********************************

Silence.

The room was totally silent save for the ever-present hum of the computer terminals and their various components.

Two figures clad in black with hoods casting obscuring shadows over their faces stared wordlessly at a brightly glowing pod, as if they were expecting something.

After several moments, the event they were waiting for became apparent as the pod ceased its glowing and began to open slowly. The figure of Ritsu Namine was visible inside. After a brief pause he began to stir.

His eyes opened and he looked about him. He then proceeded to crack his neck and each of his joints in turn.

"Oh man am I stiff!" he said as he stretched, "I suppose being in a pod for three weeks will do that to you though."

One of the hooded figures stepped forward.

"Congratulations, Ritsu. This mission was a complete success."

"Well duh! It was way easier than you made it out to be" said Ritsu, feigning offense, "That guy's resistance fell like a house of cards the instant I went in. You'll be happy to know that he's totally ours now. We officially have an agent on the inside now." He paused. "Well, other than you-know-who, that is."

"Ah yes, what is Kaito up to?" Said the cloaked figure, "He was supposed to report two days ago."

"Well, here's the thing" said Ritsu, scratching the back of his head, "He actually forgot."

One of the figures lowered their hood and shook out a head of long yellow hair that was tied up in a ponytail on one side. Her features were sharp, as was her gaze. She had hawk-like eyes that gave the impression that she was taking in every detail of the room at once simultaneously. "If it was anyone other than him, I wouldn't believe it."

"Oh, give him a break Neru" argued Ritsu, "He's been busting his ass. You don't exactly get a lot of alone time when you're head of the military's department of technology. Besides, he promised he'd check in today."

Almost as if on cue, the large terminal in the center of the wall lit up and a ringing noise sounded. Someone was sending a request for a video conference.

"I take it that would be him then?" asked Neru.

"Right on schedule. Well, kind of" said Ritsu.

The still-hooded figure moved across the room and pressed a button on the console. The call waiting message disappeared and was replaced with a video feed. A man with well-groomed blue hair stood in the center of the room. He wore a white coat with blue trim and gold accents; the mark of a high-ranking military official. At first glance the man was very handsome and seemed to be a gentleman of class and distinction. The only thing contrary to this image was the rest of his outfit. Instead of completing the formal uniform he had exchanged the pants with a pair of plain brown slacks with a belt and some practical shoes that matched. Despite this, the man still cut a rather impressive figure. A headset was visible on his left ear.

"Kaito, so nice of you to join us" said the hooded figure, "I assume you have at least something to report?"

Kaito simply let out a good-natured laugh. His voice was a pleasing tenor.

"Straight to business as always I see. Don't you have any time for pleasantries?" He looked at Neru and Ritsu. "Neru, you're looking lovely as always. Still a little childish for my tastes though." Neru tried unsuccessfully to hide embarrassment as her cheeks reddened. "And Ritsu! Let me say that that was a stunning performance! I've known the head scientist of the research department for years and I couldn't tell a whisper of difference in your portrayal. Flawless." Ritsu gave a short bow. "And of course how could we forget…"

Even with the face obscured, one could tell that the hooded figure was annoyed.

"Well… maybe the pleasantries can, ah, wait until later then…" Kaito cleared his throat, "I am happy to report that we have been given the go-ahead to continue development of Project Diva. Also, in light of the current situation, we are essentially cleared for any financing we may need for continued progress on the anti-Vocaloid weaponry that we have been developing."

The hooded figure's annoyance softened. Neru was no longer blushing and Ritsu seemed to be on the verge of bouncing up and down in excitement. The three seemed genuinely impressed by Kaito's report, not least of which was the hooded figure.

"Well… I must say that's… impressive Kaito" came the voice from beneath the hood, "Honestly I expected it to take months more for Project Diva to get clearance. This puts us far ahead of my original projections. Good work. I expect another report in two weeks. Make sure it's punctual this time."

"Of course. Now, about those pleasantries. Let me just say that…"

The hooded figure terminated the call. Neru spoke up.

"I don't see why you even put up with that pervert" she hmphed, clearly still bristled by Kaito's earlier comment.

"Now Neru, you cannot deny that he has certain valuable talents and assets" the figure responded, then she smiled a bit, white teeth visible in the gloomy light, "Even if he is a bit… inappropriate at times." The smile dissipated and her businesslike manner returned. "Now Neru, I believe I shall retire for the night, I trust you have several tasks to complete?"

Neru's own attitude instantly returned to its normal, expressionless state. "Of course. Goodnight."

The hooded figure took her leave, shortly followed by Ritsu, who was still popping his joints and muttering something about sleeping in a bed instead of a pod. The room once again fell silent except for the constant drone of the machinery. Neru walked over to an array of screens adorning one of the walls.

She passed an uneventful half-hour in this manner. Suddenly she had the strangest sensation that she was being watched. But her senses were uncannily sharp, and she had expected it. She turned around and called out to the apparently empty room.

"You can come out now. I know you've been hiding there for the past ten minutes."

An obnoxiously loud female voice answered her from behind a terminal near the back of the room.

"Ha! I would expect nothing less from the infamous Neru Akita. But how, pray tell, did you know I was here?"

"Simple. Cameras two, eight, and thirteen are all offline whereas they were all functional approximately twenty-seven minutes ago. Each of these cameras is placed in a location that leads to this very room, and they were taken out in the order one would encounter them when entering from the south. Camera two went down approximately twenty minutes ago, with cameras eight and thirteen following four and ten minutes later, respectively. From this information I can glean that you must be an individual who possesses exceptional stealth and infiltration skills, that you entered through the maintenance door on the southern side of the building, and that you most likely have had prior access to floor plans of this facility. I'd say that about sums it up, yes? As to why you would choose to do such a foolish thing, however, I can only guess."

The figure was silent for a moment, then she began to laugh.

"Well then, I guess the jig's up! Haha! You caught me! But don't think that means this is over. I may have lost the element of surprise but I shall not be deterred! For none can stop the advent of justice!"

With that being said, the mysterious person walked out from her hiding place. For being such a stealthy person, her clothing didn't really fit the bill. She wore a white sleeveless one-piece with blue trim that ended just below her hips. It was cinched around her waist with a blue and red belt. There was a blue star directly in the center of her chest. Her boots matched her top and she had striped red and blue stockings as well as elbow length gloves of the same design. She had long reddish-pink hair with an antenna on top and headphones with large star emblems covering her ears. Altogether she painted a very odd picture.

"Prepare yourself Neru! Today you pay for your crimes! For none can escape the arm of the law, and the explosive justice of The Shooting Star!"

Neru was sharp, and she tended to know what was going to happen before it happened, but nothing could have prepared her for that. That was just too ridiculous. This whole situation was ridiculous. She started to laugh. It was a high pitched, cold-sounding laugh that nonetheless sounded like she genuinely thought the situation at hand was nothing short of hilarious.

**BOOM!**

Something hit her in the chest. Hard. In fact it exploded on impact. The force of the blast sent her flying backwards directly into the main terminal, destroying the screen and dropping Neru amidst sparking wiring and circuits.

Ok, maybe not _that_ funny.

Noting the pain in her chest she surmised that she had a cracked rib. The concussive force of that attack had been largely external and had blown her backwards nearly ten feet. She suspected that it would have been further had she not hit the terminal.

She observed the individual across from her, the self-proclaimed "Shooting Star" and began assessing the situation. She was standing in a battle stance, holding what appeared to be glowing stars. Neru quickly realized that they must be compressed packets of vocal energy. Her opponent was a Vocaloid, and a rather skilled one at that.

Fortunately for Neru, so was she.

The Shooting Star threw two more of her explosives directly at Neru, but this time she was ready. Suddenly, electricity flared around her, being absorbed from the broken terminal. Quicker than the eye could see, a field of lightning expanded around her, intercepting the projectiles. They exploded in the middle of the room. An overhead light burst, raining sparks down onto the floor.

Every terminal in the room shorted out as fuses blew left and right. The leader was going to be furious with her for that, but it was an unfortunate side effect of large-scale use of her power. Besides, fuses could be replaced, exploded computers had to be rebuilt.

With surprising agility that belied her small frame, Neru leapt into the air, casting arcing bolts of energy towards her target. Shooting Star jumped out of the way and threw another explosive in her direction.

This time, the electric field expanded and the explosive rebounded back towards its source. Shooting Star ducked just in time to avoid being hit, but the small bomb blew out a window behind her.

Using the small distraction this maneuver provided her, Neru rushed in close and charged up energy in both hands. She thrust them both forward, her palms crackling with enough volts to fry a human being.

Shooting Star met the attack with one of her own. Forming another exploding star in her hand, she likewise put her hand forward and pushed the explosive directly into the electricity.

She had intended for the explosion to generate only away from her, and it would have, if not for the electrical field Neru was producing. As it was, the attack rebounded and sent her flying through the previously destroyed window and out into a small courtyard. She bounced along the ground, taking more damage than she would have liked but she recovered and managed to skid to a halt facing Neru, who was now stepping through the window herself, her eyes glowing a bright yellow.

The air smelled faintly of ozone as the lightning burned the oxygen around it.

Neru's attacks were relentless. A barrage of lightning bolts arced through the air at Shooting Star, who dodged and weaved, returning the assault with more explosives of her own. Suddenly she stopped and jumped backwards, a smirk on her face.

"Gotcha!" she yelled, clenching her fist.

Neru was confused until she looked down and saw one of the explosives at her feet, undetonated.

Timed explosives.

Before she had time to put up her electric field, the bomb exploded with a huge bang. The force of the blast sent Neru back and up, where she impacted against the concrete wall of the building with a sickening crunch noise. That was more than just a cracked rib. She fell back down to earth, landing in a heap at the base of the wall.

Shooting Star didn't let up. She threw volley after volley of her energy bombs at Neru, causing massive explosions and reducing the wall behind her to rubble. She threw them five at a time from each hand, the force would have killed a normal person by now.

But Neru was far from normal, being a very experienced fighter and tactician, as well as being a master of Vocal Vision. The force of each blast was mostly negated by her own electrical field, the bombs themselves being redirected away from her to impact in other, less deadly places.

"**ENOUGH!"**

The voice of Neru, projected outwards, amplified by her powers. An incredible electrical field expanded around her, carrying with it an incredible force. Every window in the courtyard shattered, broken glass flying in every direction. Rocks and chunks of the earth were ripped up, by the outward force of the blast. Every bomb currently in transit detonated, as well as the ones Shooting Star was holding, blasting her backwards where she impacted hard and slumped against the wall.

Shooting star coughed up blood and wiped it away with the back of her hand. This was bad. Surely others in the compound had heard the explosions. She was sure that she would be surrounded any moment now. She had intended to attack Neru from the shadows, but she had been noticed and therefore had lost the element of surprise.

Neru's eyes were glowing a neon yellow and there was electricity crackling along every inch of her body. Clearly she had decided to step it up and start using some of her real power. But Shooting Star realized that even though she could match that power and take it up a notch herself, it would soon be her against not only Neru, but the rest of the forces here.

"Damn, I was hoping to finish you off here, but it looks like I'll have to postpone this fight" she yelled at Neru, "But know this: your time is limited, Neru Akita. The Shooting Star never stops, and justice never sleeps!"

"You aren't going anywhere!" Neru screamed as she brought her hand down in a slicing motion. A massive wave of energy cut the air like a sword, sending a shockwave directly at Shooting Star. But despite Neru's efforts, there was a blinding flash of light (a flash grenade of sorts) and Shooting Star was gone. Neru cursed. She had allowed herself to be attacked unexpectedly by a foe she had dismissed due to appearances. The phrase "Never judge a book by its cover" came to mind. She cursed again.

"Neru, would you care to explain why my computers are destroyed?" came a quiet voice from behind her. It carried a note of extreme displeasure.

She turned around to see the figure of her leader, this time with her hood removed to reveal a head of very long silver hair and two piercing red eyes. Neru took in the state of the room the fight had started in. It was a mess. All the terminals were in varying states of destruction and portions of the roof had even collapsed. Dust filled the air and sparking wires protruded from severed cables.

Her blood ran cold at the sight of her leader's gaze. It had a murderous intent to it. Only two words:

"Explain. Now."

If it was the last thing she did, she was going to find this "Shooting Star" and make her rue the day she was born.

*********************************End of Chapter*********************************

Hello everyone! It's Anarchysong! I know this chapter has been a long time in coming but it's finally here! As promised, it contains the first full fight scene of any chapter yet. I would also like to say that the story will contain a stronger degree of badassery from now on. I have promised epic fight scenes, and there will be epic fight scenes.

This one took forever to write. Without this end of chapter bit it's eighteen pages long. That's two pages less than chapter three but this one had a lot more plot development. With all that's been going on, I haven't had any time to write and I apologize, but it's all better now!

Anyways, looks like it's starting to shape up. Luka is from another country, Gumi's gotten a confidence boost, and Neru's in some deep trouble. But just how do these strange events tie into the quarantine? And just who are these strange people moving behind the scenes? You'll have to read on to find out!

The music selection for this chapter was a good set of songs. They're all personal favorites of mine. Here's the list:

"Just be Friends" – This one is a really good song by Luka and I think of it as her theme song for this story. For me it represents her reservations about getting close to people. She obviously has personal issues that make this a challenge for her and this song personifies that perfectly.

Link to original video: .jp/watch/sm7528841

Link to subbed youtube video: watch?v=VoPzP-MwcLI

"Coward Montblanc" – Gumi really hits a home run with this one in my opinion. I used this for the phone call with Miku. Gumi knows that she needs to be more confident, which is what the song is about.

Link to original video: .jp/watch/sm10393864

Link to subbed youtube video: watch?v=7F4Cmu6vF-I

"Cyberpunk" – I wanted a badass song for this badass fight scene. Can't you just imagine Neru and Miki (Shooting Star) tearing it up with this playing in the background? Btw, when I hear a song and I want to use it for a fight scene, I imagine that the song is the sound the Vocaloid is using to activate their powers.

Link to original video: .jp/watch/sm9241529

Link to youtube video: watch?v=h1vgJ5-ffqU

That's it for this update! As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

Check my profile for updates on progress as well as interesting tidbits. I like to update randomly.

Anyways, I bet you all are still reeling from the sheer awesomeness of this chapter, so I'll let you get back to that. This is AnarchySong, signing off!


	7. All Splendors Eve

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

***********************************Chapter 7***********************************

Miku woke up angry.

It's never a good thing when you wake up angry. It just sort of sets the tone for the rest of the day, doesn't it? It's like just because you felt that way when you woke up, you're destined to feel that way until you go to sleep again.

The phrase "never go to bed angry" also comes to mind, but that's exactly what Miku had done the previous night. She had gone to bed angry, and she woke up still angry.

That's not to say that she didn't have a very good reason for being angry though. In light of current national events, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who thought her anger wasn't justified (Unless that person happened to be a member of the NAVT, of course). Quarantine the Vocaloids? What kind of sick joke was this? Yes, Miku Hatsune had a right to be in this unhappy state and beans to anyone who thought otherwise.

And so it was that with a scowl on her face Miku got out of bed (angrily), walked down the hallway (annoyed), and into the kitchen to see about breakfast (which she would then brood over while eating). Or at least she would have, had her path not been blocked by a certain pink-haired Vocaloid master who was, at the present time, dancing and singing in a manner most jolly.

"_To you to you good fortune be brought! For All Splendor's Eve is here! Let laughter and merriment into your heart, and come and be of good cheer!"_

On any other day, Miku probably would have cared that her master was prancing about the house like an idiot, but her current emotional state rendered her unable to give even one rat's ass about it.

"Good morning" she grunted, and proceeded to shuffle towards the fridge.

But even with her anger so prevalent, she couldn't help but notice that something was off. She couldn't place it, but she was sure that there was something wrong with the scene in front of her. Everything seemed normal, Luka being a freak, decorations all over the place, festive music playing over the stereo; she couldn't put her finger on it (because clearly those things are all normal, right?). Then she glanced at the clock and it clicked.

It was past ten in the morning! They should have been outside training over 4 hours ago! She spun around and pointed an accusing finger at Luka.

"Hey! What's the big idea! Weren't we supposed to be stepping up my training?"

Luka didn't miss a beat with her reply.

"It's the day of giving!" she stated as if everyone ought to know about it.

Miku took a closer look at the scene before her. Everything was wrong! Luka was being a freak, there were decorations all over the place, and festive music was playing over the stereo! Had the house gone mad between yesterday and today? Well, maybe Luka acting like an idiot wasn't _that_ unusual, but this time she wasn't doing it on purpose.

"Right…" she replied, "Day of giving… sure…"

Suddenly Luka froze. Then she let out a noise halfway between a gasp and a squee. In an instant she was inches away from Miku's face.

"I can't believe I forgot!" she said, barely suppressing her excitement, "I didn't tell you about All Splendor's Eve, did I?"

Miku's response was an expression that was a combination of annoyance and disbelief. She supposed it shouldn't surprise her by now. It was just easier to go along with these things when they happened.

"No. No you did not." She said, knowing that Luka was going to explain it to her anyways.

"Oooohhhh yay!" said Luka, making that noise again, "Let me tell you all about it!"

Bingo.

"All Splendors Eve is a holiday from my country" she began, "It lasts three days and it's the best thing in the world! Today is the first day: the day of giving. Tomorrow is the day of feasting, and the last day is All Splendor's Eve, or the day of thankfulness. Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Here!"

She produced a colorfully wrapped package and handed it to Miku. Hey! Maybe this wasn't such a weird situation after all! Any holiday where gifts were involved was ok by Miku. And had she said something about a day of feasting? This was sounding better and better! She was about to open her present when Luka stopped her.

"Ah! Not yet! Today is just the day of _giving_ the presents. You don't get to open them until the last day."

Ok, that was just evil.

"Don't worry though!" she continued before Miku could protest, "There's plenty of other things to do while you wait! Come help me decorate!"

She led Miku into the living room.

Miku's blood froze. Anger welled up inside of her. There was a tree. A tree! In the house! It wasn't a pine tree, rather a short, stubby, bush-like thing that Luka grew in pots out back, but it was still a tree damn it. _So, we meet again_ she thought, her eyes narrowing.

But as much as she still wanted revenge on trees everywhere, she had to admit that this particular tree looked pretty good with the decorations Luka had put on it. There were shiny streamers and little animal ornaments adorning it as well as some cool strings of… hold on… what on earth? Those weren't normal lights. They weren't connected to any cord; they were just sort of… floating there. She asked Luka about them.

"Oh, I made them!" she replied, "I'll show you how if you want."

Miku did want. Very much so.

An hour later Miku had to admit that she was starting to enjoy this whole "All Splendor's Eve" thing just a little. She had even managed to learn a song or two and was happily singing them along with Luka. The room now looked like either the lighting section of a hardware store, or a club. After learning the light-orb making technique from Luka, she had gone a little overboard. They were incredibly easy to make, requiring only minimal focus and a simple melody to create, and Luka said they stayed lit for days.

Miku wondered why Luka didn't just use bigger versions of these to light the house but she quickly learned that once they were made, it was really hard to turn them off. Since the energy had left her control, she couldn't regain dominion over it. Luka could do it, given time, but that was only because she was very experienced and had practiced a lot. She could not, however, turn off the ones Miku made since she didn't know her energy signature well enough yet.

The little orbs also had a tendency to float around a lot. They carried no force at all so you could hold them and move them yourself, but they were so light that stray air currents moved them all over the room. Luka could make hers stick to things but the technique for that was more advanced and Miku hadn't been able to get it. So now the living room looked like it was full of fairies, not that either of them minded.

"So it's basically Christmas, only in the summer?" asked Miku, "Only it lasts three days and there's no Santa?"

"Santa?" said Luka, looking confused.

"You know, Santa Claus? Fat guy, red suit, drives a flying sleigh?"

Luka's expression didn't change.

"Never mind" Miku changed the subject. "It feels like there should be snow."

"It's winter this time of year in Lucentia" said Luka. Suddenly she got a faraway sort of expression like she was daydreaming. "Right about now all the buildings would be dusted with white, the children would be playing in the streets, having snowball fights and making snow animals (Snowniigasen). It's a truly wondrous sight." She sighed a little. Miku could tell that she missed her home a lot sometimes.

Miku got an idea.

"Could you possibly… you know… just _make_ some snow?" she asked, wondering if there was some sort of super advanced Vocaloid technique that would allow one to do that.

"Not even I can control the weather, Miku" replied Luka, "Still, just because there isn't any snow doesn't mean that we can't still celebrate, right?"

It didn't mean they couldn't still celebrate, but Miku still thought snow would make it a lot cooler. Pun intended.

They spent the remainder of the day decorating the rest of the house, singing, and laughing. By the time she went to sleep that night, Miku had decided that All Splendors Eve was one of her favorite holidays.

The next morning Miku awoke with one of her light-orbs on her face and several more floating in various locations around her room. Those things were everywhere now.

As she shook off the sense-dampening effects of sleep, Miku noticed that there was an enticing aroma in the air. It smelled like… food? Wait a second… Luka said today was the day of… Oh hell yes.

Miku jumped out of bed and didn't even bother changing into her daywear (she was still sleeping in extra pairs of Luka's pajamas. The pink color of the clothes wasn't her style, and they were too big for her (especially around the chest), but she was too excited by the prospect of a day entirely devoted to food to care at the moment.

Miku practically ran to the kitchen in her eagerness. What she saw upon arriving nearly made her explode. Luka was wearing her flowery apron and listening to her music (nothing unusual there), but it was the scene around her that had Miku salivating.

Every available surface was covered with different food-related items. There were cans and packages littering the countertops. The oven was on and Miku could see some sort of roasting animal inside. Appliances were whirring, water was running, and meat was sizzling. The smell was heavenly. Miku could only imagine the spread such preparation would produce.

At that moment, Miku could have died happy. It was like she was in a dream. Was it weird that she dreamed about eating? Probably not. Even if it was, Miku didn't care.

She walked up and tapped Luka on the shoulder. Luka spun around and her eyes lit up. Taking off her headphones she wrapped Miku in a hug.

"Happy day of feasting!" She said happily.

Ok… awkward. That's enough hugging now… really… alright this is starting to get uncomfortable.

"Yeah… happy day of feasting to you too…" said Miku, not sure how to react.

Luka seemed to notice her discomfort and immediately released her.

"Oh dear. I'm sorry. That's the customary embrace of friendship" she said, scratching her head and looking apologetic, "You're supposed to give hugs to everyone on this day back home. People stop each other in the streets for it."

That… sounded strange, to say the least. People hugging each other all over the place didn't sound like a good time to Miku, but that's probably because she wasn't the kind of person who liked to talk about friendship and love and sappy stuff like that. A whole day of hugging would be a nightmare for her.

Seeing her discomfort, Luka changed the subject.

"So… care to help?" she asked, gesturing around at the kitchen, "I'd be glad to let you try your hand at it, but you should probably go get dressed first."

Miku took to cooking like a fish to… well, not water… more like sand. Let's just say she was bad at it. After she burned her third attempt at frying some vegetables, Luka took over again. She advised Miku to go wander around for a while. Perhaps go outside, far, far away from the kitchen.

"But don't touch the pit while you're out there!" Luka said as Miku left by way of the back door.

Pit? What pit? There hadn't been a pit out back before…

And then she saw it.

There was a pig. _A whole pig_ roasting in a fire pit dug into the ground. Had that been there before? Miku was sure it hadn't. In fact, she was sure that it hadn't been there the previous day. When did Luka find the time to do any of the things she did? Did she even sleep?

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Miku realized that wandering around for several hours was the kind of thing that was boring. She didn't like boring. Boring was her enemy.

Then she got an idea. _That sounds like a good waste of a few hours_ she thought to herself.

*************************************Later*************************************

By the time Luka went outside to tell Miku that it was finally time to eat, she was very surprised that Miku hadn't managed to break something. In fact, she hadn't heard a sound from the outside since that morning. It was beginning to get dark.

The sight that greeted her eyes was one of the most beautiful things she had even seen.

Over the course of the day, Miku had apparently taken on the task of insuring that the outside looked the same as the inside. And she had done it the only way she knew how.

There were _thousands_ of them. Light orbs, that is. They were everywhere. They floated around in the air like fireflies, got tangled up in the foliage of trees, and gathered in drifts at the base of the house. They looked a lot like… snowflakes. Glowing, luminescent snowflakes. If it hadn't been for the temperature, Luka may have believed they were. The scene brought a tear to her eyes. She was sure that Miku hadn't done it intentionally, but the sight before her stirred memories of a happier time. She felt that this was the most special All Splendors Eves she had experienced in a long time.

Miku appeared around the side of the house, absentmindedly batting around one of the orbs between her hands. She looked up and saw Luka and a smile broke out on her face. She began walking towards her.

"Well it's about time!" she said, "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about m….."

She was cut off by a hug.

The feast was beyond description. The fact that it was for only two people didn't make it any less impressive. Everything had turned out perfectly. They had understandably been unable to bring the whole roasted pig inside, but there was so much meat from it that it hardly mattered. Luka had taken care of the preparations all by herself. She had offered to let Miku do it, and she had been all too willing at first. However, when it came to the actual "cutting it open" part, Miku discovered that she was just a tad squeamish.

Every inch of the table was covered with one delectable dish or another. Miku decided that she had never been happier than she was at that exact moment. With that much food, how could she not be? The sheer amount of it was staggering. Undeterred, she vowed to eat until she passed out. And let no one be misled: after the eating was done, there was a sizeable chunk missing from the initial spread. There was also a considerable amount of work to be done cleaning dishes and storing leftovers, all of which was left to Luka, since Miku did in fact achieve her goal of being unconscious at the end of the meal. Luka didn't mind though. She was just happy to have some company after so many years of spending this holiday alone.

She pulled the curtains covering the kitchen window aside and gazed outside. Miku's lightshow was still in full force, as it would be for the next few days. Luka smiled, feeling like she was the luckiest person on earth. She then mentally chided herself for thinking that she deserved to be lucky. There were still plenty of sins she had to atone for.

It was happening slowly. Too slowly for Luka to realize it. But steadily, the walls she had erected around herself over the past twelve years of solitude were beginning to crumble.

******************************The Next Morning*********************************

Miku awoke feeling full and happy. It occurred to her that she was no longer angry as she had been two days previously. She was still pissed at the situation at hand, certainly, but that lingering feeling of crossness had left her. In its place was a newfound sense of contentment. She was back to her usual self. No longer did that dark cloud loom over her head.

It wasn't too hard to feel happy though, considering the events of the past two days. This weird foreign holiday was a laugh and a half. She couldn't recall having enjoyed herself more in a long time.

She remembered something Luka had said to her.

"Ah! Not yet! Today is just the day of _giving_ the presents. You don't get to open them until the last day."

_Hold on a minute_ she thought, _today is the last day._

What was she still doing in bed? There was a present to open! She could imagine what Gumi would say, seeing her getting this excited over a present. She wasn't a kid anymore, after all.

Totally wasn't going to stop her though.

When she burst into the living room, expecting music and a dancing Luka, what she found instead was just about the opposite.

Luka was there, but she wasn't dancing, and the room was completely silent. Luka was knelt on the floor in front of a large framed picture. She looked like she was deep in thought, contemplating the photograph in front of her. Miku suddenly felt rather like she was intruding on something private.

However, when Luka looked up to find the source of the noise disrupting her vigil, she smiled.

"Good morning. Happy All Splendors Eve Miku." She said.

"Am I… interrupting something?" Miku asked.

"Oh not at all" said Luka, "Today is All Splendors Eve, or the day of thankfulness. This is when we remember all the things we're thankful for, as well as remember those who mean the most to us."

Miku looked at the photograph. It was of a much younger looking Luka side by side with a white-haired woman who looked to be about the same age and had one arm around Luka's shoulder, flashing a peace sign at the camera with a mischievous smile on her face. Behind them stood a statuesque man with his long purple hair tied back in a ponytail and an ornate sheath strapped to his waist. He was looking at the camera with a pleasant smile on his face.

"So… that's her then? Your friend I mean." Said Miku, looking at the picture.

Luka's smile faltered a little but it held. There was a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Yeah, that's Haku." She offered lamely. She wasn't sure what to say.

_She was right_ thought Miku_ I really do look a lot like her._

"So… what are we supposed to do on All Splendors Eve?" asked Miku.

"Oh! There's a ton of stuff!" said Luka, eager to clear the awkwardness in the air, "There's singing and dancing and drinking… basically the usual festivities. At night, we hold a candlelight vigil and say a prayer to the Gods thanking them for our good fortune and humbly asking for calm seas and fair weather for the future."

"I think I'll leave the drinking to you. You seem to do enough of it for the both of us" joked Miku, eliciting a chuckle from Luka.

The remainder of the morning and most of the afternoon and evening were spent exactly as Luka had suggested: singing, dancing, eating (yes, Miku was hungry again), and generally having a good time. It wasn't until about eight o' clock that Luka noticed the time.

"Oh wow, where did the day go?" she said, "Oi! Miku!"

Miku looked up from where she had her head in the fridge (seriously, did that girl EVER stop eating?). Seeing that she had her attention Luka went on to say:

"Remember that thing I mentioned this morning? Yeah, it's time for that so get your butt over here."

"The candle thing?" asked Miku, still holding a piece of pie on a plate.

"Candlelight vigil" Luka corrected her, "And yes. This is the most important tradition of All Splendors Eve. You've got people in your life who you're thankful for, right? Well this is the time where you thank the divines that you've been blessed with such fortune."

Miku was instructed to kneel and bow her head respectively. Silence fell. Miku found it a little uncomfortable, but then again, that was probably just because she wasn't used to it. She glanced over at Luka, who was in the same kneeling position and was whispering a prayer under her breath.

The silence stretched on. Miku thought about the people in her life that mattered to her. The only person she could think of right off the bat was Gumi, her best friend in the world, but as she thought harder it occurred to her that Luka now fell into the category of people who were important to her as well. She had only been with her for barely two months but Luka was already someone who she thought of as precious to her.

Being absorbed in her thoughts, Miku didn't notice that Luka was staring back at her. She reddened and looked away when she realized the awkwardness of situation.

"I was just uh…" she said sheepishly. Luka cut her off.

"It's ok, I understand" said Luka, "And it means more to me than you know." Miku could tell that she meant it.

Luka was touched. She hadn't ever thought that she could have someone as a friend ever again. She had expected to be alone for the rest of her life, but Miku had changed all that. But at the same time that she felt blessed, this newfound friendship also made her nervous. Miku trusted her. It wasn't hard to believe, Miku was a trusting person who liked to see the good in people, but if she trusted her, then there was the chance that Luka could let her down, and that was what frightened her. If she made the same mistake again, she wasn't sure she could recover a second time.

Now Luka was the one staring. She shook herself back to reality.

"So… how about that present now?" she said.

Miku was all too happy to oblige her. A sound of ripping paper and tearing cardboard later and Miku was holding her new present.

The gift was nothing special, but it held significance nonetheless. Inside the box was a pair of headphones. They were of a different style than Lukas and Miku thought they looked familiar, but she couldn't think where she'd seen them before. Her question was answered, however, not a moment later when she glanced at the photo on Luka's little makeshift altar. In the picture, the headphones were on Luka's head. Miku glanced back at her.

"These were...?" she began.

"Mine, yes." Luka finished for her, a soft smile on her face. "I used to wear those long ago when I was about your age. They're from a time when things were a lot happier. Considering how much you remind me of those happy times, I figured they should be yours now."

Miku wasn't one for emotional moments, but something about the sincerity in Luka's tone got to her and she had to struggle to remain dry-eyed. She didn't know what to say, so she settled on "Thank you."

The two friends shared a warm moment. Their kinship, born of the strangest circumstances, was no less meaningful than the bonds shared by any family. For better or worse, Miku Hatsune and Luka Megurine were friends, and come hell or high water (and both were indeed coming), they were there to help each other through.

*********************************Elsewhere************************************

In a darkened room, lit only by the few candles adorning the altar in its center, a white-haired woman was kneeling and offering up a silent prayer to the Gods. Despite the taint of the years, certain traditions were important enough to be observed.

There was a picture set atop the small altar. It was of two cheerful looking young girls and a handsome middle-aged man standing behind them. All three were smiling. The room was completely silent save for the almost inaudible whisper from the woman's lips. There was a definite air of reverence about the situation.

The woman finished her prayer and opened her eyes, thoughtfully taking in the picture in front of her. That had been so long ago. Oh to go back.

Her gaze fell on the pink-haired woman in the photo and her eyes narrowed. An unnatural anger took hold of her as she stared at that woman.

Suddenly, there was a flash of white and a sound of shattering glass and the photograph was obliterated in a blast of powerful vocal energy.

Without a word, the woman stood, turned, and left the room as the small altar lay in ruins behind her.

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

There you go guys! I'll do the rest of the end of chapter update later. For now, I'm going to go spend the holiday with my friends.

Happy New Year! This is AnarchySong signing off!

**Update 01/08/2012**

Ok, I know I said I would put the official end of chapter info up a few days ago, but I got sidetracked and I bought a few games on Steam and yadda yadda yadda let's do it now.

If you're looking for updates on chapter 8, head over to my profile as I've posted all relevant information there already.

I would like to make it clear that this chapter was NOT chapter 8. It is just a special "in-between" chapter that I wanted to write for the holidays. Most of what happened here won't have any bearing on the continuing storyline.

As for the songs that inspired my writing this time, there are a variety but they all share the same central theme of Christmas. Without further ado:

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" – This song is just a bunch of the Vocaloids singing that holiday tune everyone knows. I thought it was kind of cute. I used it for every morning when Miku wakes up wondering what was going to happen that day.

Link to Youtube video (It's in Engrish): watch?v=_lItHZGntSk&list=PL247310A1981A5A9E&index=104&feature=plpp_video

"La La Merry Christmas" – I found this song for the first time this holiday season and I really liked it. I've long grown bored of many traditional Christmas Carols and songs and this one stood out to me as a deviation from the norm. I used this song for the overall feel of the chapter. That is, the way Miku stops feeling angry and embraces the spirit of All Splendors Eve and how Luka starts to realize that having people around you that care and that you care about is an important part of life.

Link to Youtube video: watch?v=0sucGiwvqEA

Link to original video: .jp/watch/sm5574816

"Anti X-mas Superstar" – Ok, I will warn you that this song is NOT clean. It features a bit of Miku cursing (still in engrish) and it's not for everyone. However, when I first heard it not only did it scare the crap out of me because I had my sound turned up, it also struck me as the perfect feeling for Haku's anger at the end of the chapter. It starts off happy and upbeat and then at about 50 seconds in it just does a complete 180 and… I don't know. Give it a listen and you'll understand what I mean.

Link to Youtube video: watch?v=7LntSSj22SM&list=PL247310A1981A5A9E&index=101&feature=plpp_video

Link to original video: .jp/watch/sm16422178

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! I would like to remind you that none of these videos belong to me. All credit goes to the original creators (as it should). As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

That's it for this chapter! You can expect chapter 8 before the end of the month. Check my profile for more information and for details on how to contact me.

I know I always say this but REVIEW! I love reviews! I will say that I am very thankful for all the wonderful reviews that I received for this chapter. Your words inspire me and help me keep writing! Also, if you decide to grace me with a review, sign it! I will respond to signed reviews!

Anyways, I'm going to go get some work done on chapter 8 so I'll end it there. This is AnarchySong signing off!


	8. A Decidedly Mikuish Plan

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

For the record, the actual full name of this chapter is: "A Decidedly Miku-ish Plan. You Don't Have to go Home but you Can't Stay Here!" The character limit for chapter names is too short on Fanfiction dot net.

***********************************Chapter 8***********************************

Gumi Megpoid was… not worried.

Somehow, for once, she was actually not worried. She was… what was the word for it? Tense? Expectant? Perhaps even excited? Yeah, that one sounded good. Excited.

She didn't really understand why she was feeling so confident, and indeed, every part of her considerable intellect told her that confidence was not the correct emotional response in this situation, but still, there it was.

It had all happened after she had spoken to Miku and she had, in her usual manner, managed to take Gumi's perceptions and turn them a complete 180. Now she was at least no longer worried about what was going to happen, but still skeptical on what she needed to do.

Or at least she had been until that morning when she woke up. Upon waking, a thought occurred to her. It was something Miku had said during their last conversation.

"_With your brains, you could probably come up with a better plan than I ever could! And it probably wouldn't even have to involve the risk of death or serious injury!"_

Death and serious injury... Those were two things Gumi definitely wanted to avoid at all costs; for both herself and others. Miku's approaches were… effective. But they usually ended with other people having broken bones. Gumi didn't want people to get seriously hurt by any of her plans.

But then that was another thing altogether. It had become clear that force was going to be applied in order to keep this quarantine in effect and in order to counter that, she might have to use force herself. But force wasn't really her thing. She wasn't a fighter. She was a thinker. She couldn't throw energy blasts or punch over a tree like Miku could.

Furthermore, these weren't just random people she was dealing with, they were trained soldiers. They had even Miku outmatched in terms of force. And if that was the case, what chance did Gumi have?

But then her brilliant mind finally threw a good idea at her. What could she do? She was _helpless_. And since she was helpless, no one would expect her to be a threat. And indeed, it wouldn't really be _her_ that was the threat at all.

She looked around her room. It was a fairly large room but nearly every inch of it was full of… stuff. There was barely enough room for her bed and her desk. There were boxes and shelves and containers and all of them were filled with the same thing: junk.

Well, it looked like junk to anyone but Gumi. To her, it was merely a collection of components waiting to be utilized, and she couldn't think of a better time to utilize them than now.

You see, it had occurred to her that while she might not be a threat herself, she had the means and the capability to create things that were. She had never attempted to make something quite like this before, but she was sure she could do it if she tried.

She wasn't thinking of guns. She wouldn't stand a chance against a town full of military personnel. Not that she would ever shoot someone in the first place. The idea of killing another human being made her cringe.

What she was thinking of doing hinged entirely upon her being able to predict what was going to happen next. She could tell that this quarantine couldn't last forever; likely only a few months at most. After that… she felt that she had a pretty good idea what would happen.

It would be the logical thing. What did a government do when its people were afraid of something? They did something to get rid of what was causing that fear. In this case it was Vocaloids, and so it would be Vocaloids that would be gotten rid of. Of course it wouldn't be like they were killing them in the streets or anything. These were still people after all. No, it would be slower than that. If history was any indicator, removal preceded disposal. In Gumi's opinion, Vocaloids would be removed to… somewhere… at some point in the near future.

Of course she had nothing to base this on but her own intellect (however considerable an intellect it was), and most people probably would have thought she was overthinking the situation. Still, she was confident that her assumptions were correct.

But that brought up yet another question: If she was going to make something that could help her out here, and she was hinging it upon the idea that at some point, military personnel were going to come breaking her door down to take her away, what exactly could she make that would prevent that? More importantly, what exactly could she make that would prevent that and have the added benefit of not injuring anyone?

It was a simple answer. What do you make if you don't want to kill something but you still want to catch it? Traps.

Her thought process finally coming full circle, Gumi shook her head, realizing that she was sitting at her desk. She glanced at the clock. She had been sitting there thinking for a full half hour.

She had the tendency to zone out for a while in order to carry a thought to its logical conclusion and it caused her problems when it happened while in class or in some other social setting, earning her the nickname "Space Case" on more than one occasion.

But that was ok. Being quarantined had certain perks, and one of those perks was copious amounts of free time. It was ok because now she knew what she was going to do… sort of. She had a basic framework anyways. Now all she had to do was flesh out that framework a bit and…

Whoa. Hold up. Wait just one gosh darn minute there. What on earth was she doing? The logical part of her brain finally got fed up with being pushed aside and finally asserted itself. Did she seriously just spend a significant portion of her morning considering ways to incapacitate soldiers? Well, when she put it that way…

She needed a second opinion.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

"That's an awesome idea!" came a familiar voice through her scrap phone, "Really Gumi, best plan you've ever come up with by far."

Ok, so maybe Miku shouldn't have been her first choice for an unbiased opinion, but she didn't exactly have a lot of options here.

"You really think so?" she asked, coming to realize that Miku would probably think of this as some kind of super secret stealth mission.

"Totally!" Miku replied, "You'll be like a secret agent or something. You use your ultra high-tech gadgets to dispatch the enemy while you claim the prize!"

"What prize? I'm just trying to get away." She stated, not really following Miku's movie-based system of thinking.

"Uh… freedom. That's your prize" she said without missing a beat, "You're like a secret agent freedom… fighter… person."

Gumi really wasn't following, but she needed some serious input on this and it was clear that Miku was not going to be able to provide that. However good a friend she was, this was not her forte. But if not Miku, who could she talk to? She needed someone who could give her the advice she needed; someone who was experienced in the art of stealth and silent warfare. Ok, maybe that was a bit dramatic sounding. She wasn't actually trying to be a secret agent.

"Hey Miku, I value your input, but I'm not really trying to be a secret agent here" she said, echoing her thoughts of a moment before, "I need advice on how I should go about this. Not how cool it is."

There was silence on the other end of the line and for a moment Gumi thought she may have offended her, but then…

"Well… there is… one person who I'm pretty sure could help… only…" Miku paused, choosing her words, "She doesn't exactly talk to a lot of people so she might be…"

Gumi knew in an instant who Miku was talking about, and for some inexplicable reason, it made her nervous. Miku hadn't told her much about her teacher, other than the rambling, slightly nonsensical story she had given Gumi about her first three days with her, and that was hardly anything to go on.

In her mind, Gumi had a sudden image of an old woman, wizened by the passage of time, fighting off hordes of faceless enemies like it was nothing. She shook herself back to reality.

"Oh… I suppose… that is, if it's ok with her." Gumi said, a little apprehensively.

There was some shuffling on the other end of the line as Miku went to go find Luka. She then heard muffled voices, something that sounded like "Me? Why?" then a new voice came on the line.

"Sup Gumi? Miku's told me a lot about you. It's nice to finally talk to you in person."

Gumi facepalmed. Yeah, that sure sounded like she had problems talking to people.

"Hello? You there?" came Luka's voice again.

"Oh, yes, sorry, hello" Gumi replied.

"Miku tells me you want my advice on something?" Luka said, "I don't know how much help I'll be but I'll give what wisdom I can."

"Well you see… I've got this plan, and… now this is going to sound crazy…"

Gumi laid out her plan for Luka bit by bit. Admittedly, she hadn't gotten into the details yet, so all it amounted to was something like "The military is going to try and take me away and I'm going to set traps for them so I can escape" but Luka listened anyways. When Gumi was done, Luka spoke.

"Well that's… uh… quite a plan you have there" she said, "And it's a solid one, I think, as far as a plan like this can be anyways. But what you've neglected to take into account is what happens if you're successful. Say you get out, what then? Where are you going to go? You can't just live the life of a fugitive forever."

Even though she wasn't the one on the line, Gumi heard Miku's voice loud and clear.

"What do you mean? She can come here, duh!"

Gumi had to admit, she hadn't thought of what she was going to do should her plan prove successful. She hadn't planned that far ahead; maybe because a part of her didn't expect to succeed at all.

"Well, sure I suppose here would be a good destination but she isn't exactly close is she?" Luka stated, "And furthermore, how would she even find her way here? We're in the middle of a huge forest."

"Actually, um… I can track the signal from Miku's phone" Gumi said quietly.

Luka pondered that for a moment. She had to give the girl props. Having the foresight to put a GPS tracker in those little pieces of scrap she called phones was pretty impressive. Not to mention it really spoke to her technical prowess that she was able to design a GPS tracker at all. In all reality, the safest place Gumi could be was with her and Miku. It was remote, hidden, and not easily accessible to anyone who happened to wander by. If she could feasibly make it there…

"Well if that's the case… I think you should aim for here. Wait, I've got an even better idea!" Luka said brightly, "Miku and I can meet you halfway!"

Miku was all for it.

"That's a great idea! If you're with us, then there's nothing to worry about!" she said enthusiastically.

Gumi smiled. She was glad that they had been able to hammer out something solid. But this was all still conjecture at this point. There was a lot of work to do before this plan could bear fruit.

They decided that they would meet in Sesame Town. It was a small, nondescript agricultural community roughly halfway between where Gumi was and Luka's Cottage; the perfect place for a meeting of illegal Vocaloids. Gumi hadn't traveled long distance before, especially not by herself on foot, and she had never had a need to keep a low profile either. Such an out of the way destination made it less likely that any of them would encounter trouble during the trip.

As she hung up the phone, Gumi once again felt that same sense of waning confidence once Miku and Luka's voices could no longer be heard but she quickly pushed it away. This was no time for such sentiments. She had work to do, and since she wasn't well acquainted with the mechanics of the devices which she was planning on making, her first stop was her local library to pick up a few books on the subject. Knowledge is power after all.

Just one problem: Being under quarantine didn't exactly allow her to leave. A trip to the library wasn't a possibility if she was confined to her house. Gumi allowed herself a small bit of depression as she realized this. Her trips to the library were one of her favorite parts of the week. The feeling of literature weighing down her bags filled her with a sort of quiet pride. In this day and age of media and social networking, people sorely underappreciated the value of the printed word.

Yet even as she thought this, her gaze shifted to her right and rested on her computer which sat on a small table next to her desk. Printed words were great and all, but right now Gumi was infinitely more thankful for the internet and its ability to access a wealth of information without the need to leave one's residence. So while normally she would have made the trek to the library on principle alone, she instead sent up a small prayer for forgiveness to the book Gods and pressed the power button.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

There was something wrong here. Something very wrong. A cursory glance around the house would not provide one with the impression that the situation at hand was anything but normal. But Teto knew better. She knew that around every corner lurked a vicious unseen enemy. A foe so cruel and unforgiving that if given the chance, it would destroy you and all you love without a second thought, leaving you barely a shell of your former happy self and having nothing to do but dwell upon the bleak, desolate wasteland that had become your day to day existence.

What enemy could possibly be so foul and yet go unnoticed, you ask? The answer is simple: Boredom.

So many people disregard boredom as something that could never happen to them. _There will always be something to keep me interested_ they thought. Teto scoffed. How naïve. Didn't they know that at any moment, their lives could be shattered?

_I was like them not so long ago_ she mused. How careless she had been. How foolish. Now she paid for her inaction with the unbridled tedium of task… less… ness…? Was that even a word? Teto wasn't sure. All she knew was that this was most certainly not how a summer vacation was supposed to feel.

As you've probably guessed by now, Teto Kasane is bored. She is bored out of her head and struggling to stay sane. Ok, so maybe she's being a bit melodramatic about the whole thing but come on, it's summer! Isn't that the season that's supposed to be synonymous with fun?

You've probably also already guessed the source of her boredom. Quarantines don't really provide a lot of leniency when it comes to getting out of the house. She had made plans. Oh the plans she had made! How glorious they would have been! The simple joy of walking to the corner store to spend what little money she had seemed like an unattainable luxury now. How she longed to wear her new swimsuit that she had gotten for her birthday. She'd be the envy of every guy in town (provided she could get over her shyness, that is, but she was working on it!) if only she could just get to the swimming pool.

Now, you might be inclined to feel sorry for Teto. Maybe a bit of pity for the teenage girl forbidden to have fun by the powers that be. Let me assure you that Teto's boredom is nobody's fault but her own. While she might not be exceptionally good at being bored, she is exceptionally good at being very, very lazy.

You see, since Teto isn't registered as a Vocaloid, she isn't technically bound by the quarantine… she's just very bad at mustering the motivation to get off the couch.

It had been two weeks since the simultaneous beginnings of both summer vacation and the government-imposed quarantines. Teto had left the house on approximately zero occasions during that time. She had done her fair share of whining, but at this point she might as well be complaining to thin air. Her mother, being a woman of strong convictions and possessing a level head, had long since come to terms with her confinement and as such had taken to tuning out Teto's complaints in favor of whatever happened to be on television at the moment. Sometimes she wondered if that made her a bad mother, but then she'd hear another bout of "I want to go have fun" and she would decide that no, no it didn't.

In all reality, the reason Teto hadn't left the house yet was because Uta had been gone. Two days after school got out she and her parents had left on an early summer getaway. None of them were Vocaloids so they were free to do as they pleased. Uta promised that she would come rescue her the moment they got back. Fortunately for Teto (and her mother) that moment happened to be right then.

It was a curious transformation that Teto underwent when she heard the knock at the door. As if someone had flicked an invisible switch, her personality changed instantly from one of complete boredom to that of a woman possessed. To the untrained eye, it may have appeared that Teto had simply disappeared into thin air, but in reality she was moving too fast to see.

Like a charging beast she was heedless of all in front of her. Anything unfortunate enough to be in her way would be crushed without a second thought. Fortunately the only thing she managed to break was the sound barrier (well, not really but she had to be close) while cutting her warpath directly to the front door.

As the door opened all Uta had time to say was "Mmmph!" as a red blur tackled her to the ground. Taken aback for only a moment, Uta quickly realized that the freight train that had bowled her over was none other than her best friend.

"Wow, miss me much?" she said in her usual sarcastic manner. Teto's only response was to hug her tighter.

"You have no idea!" Teto replied. She couldn't decide what to do between laughing, crying, or yelling so she tried all three at once. When she found herself unable to do this she settled on the biggest smile she'd ever had.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

After her initial burst of giddiness at Uta's return had subsided, Teto had curbed her excitement back to a low boil. Her movements now able to be tracked by the naked eye, Teto and Uta had a lot of catching up to do. To this end, they (Uta) had decided that they (Teto) needed to get out of the house and go somewhere. The destination wasn't important, anywhere other than there was fine.

The instant she heard the door shut, Riko Kasane breathed a sigh of relief; at last, a moment of peace and quiet. Turning off the television, she simply sat and absorbed the tranquility of the house around her, having nearly forgotten that such a thing was possible with Teto around constantly.

Her moment of repose was short lived however, as certain matters were weighing heavily on her mind and they chose that quiet moment to invade once more, as such thoughts are wont to do. While Riko was most certainly usually a calm and level-headed woman, even she had to admit that the current state of affairs had her in a mental tailspin.

She hadn't been to work in two weeks. This was perhaps the most notable difference. It felt unusual to her to not see any of her coworkers for such an extended period. Even so, she didn't miss it that much. Being one of only two Vocaloids on staff, the atmosphere had changed as of late. She could hear people's hushed conversations taking place behind her back. She knew what they were thinking; wondering if there could be any truth behind the news reports. What if she was dangerous? Could they be at risk? She watched people that she had worked with for years suddenly become distant with her. It was the most alienating feeling she could ever have imagined. But that wasn't what worried her the most.

While it's true that money can't buy happiness, it most certainly can contribute to peace of mind. The best things in life may be free, but there are a lot of things almost as good that aren't. She had already received several of the government-issue food packages being sent to Vocaloids but it was things like a house payment or cable that her now nonexistent income would soon be unable to support.

She had a fair amount of money in her savings; enough to last four or five months. However, she would definitely need to start cutting back. Things were going to be tough for a while.

A sigh escaped her lips as her mind mulled over possibilities. Three months ago she never would have thought it possible for any of this to happen. Funny how everything you know can change so fast. It wasn't fair. But Riko knew all too well that oftentimes life wasn't fair. It was a hard truth, but a truth nonetheless, and she had no choice but to carry on anyways.

Being a mother, her main concern was not for herself, but for Teto. She could only imagine what this would do to her. She felt guilty that she was unable to provide for her daughter, even though she knew it was no fault of her own. It would be harder for Teto than it was for her. She had never had to live frugally before. Well, at least not that she remembered. She had been too young when the "accident" had happened.

The thought struck her that perhaps it was better that Teto went to live somewhere else for a while. One so young shouldn't live with a mother that does nothing but stay home all day. It would surely get incredibly boring (It had already). The responsible parent in her knew that she had to send Teto away somewhere, for lack of a more appropriate word, better.

The only issue was: where? They didn't have any relatives nearby. Where could Teto go? It wasn't like she could just put her outside and say "start walking". But then something made her pause.

Wait.

Maybe she could.

Getting up, she walked over to the phone. She dialed the number for the Utane Household. It rang a few times until there was a click and a female voice said "hello?"

"Sarah? It's Riko."

…

"Oh I'm fine. How was your trip?"

…

"Oh that sounds wonderful! Listen, I've got somewhat of a favor to ask of you…"

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

Teto was feeling great. She was so happy to have her best friend back after two weeks. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach had been replaced by ice cream (Vanilla. But who needs creativity when the classics taste so good?). She couldn't think of anything that she would rather be doing at that exact moment.

Uta had been telling her about all the things her family had done on their vacation. They had seen so many amazing things. The giant waterfall in Clandestine Valley, the harbor at Soundsmith Port, the enormous gardens in Medley's Vale, it truly sounded like a trip that would not soon be forgotten. Uta hadn't stopped talking about it since they had left but Teto was content to listen, "ooh-ing" and "ah-ing" at the appropriate moments.

"…and then there was this one flower thing that I swear had petals bigger than your head. It was so cool! I wish you could have been there, you would have loved it" said Uta, continuing her excited discussion, "But enough about my trip, what did you do while I was gone?"

"Oh God it was _awful_" Teto whined, the lethargy of the last two weeks still fresh in her mind, "There was nothing to do! I literally sat inside and watched TV for two weeks. It was _soooo boring_!"

"You could have… I don't know… _gone outside_ or something in that time" said Uta, perfectly aware that Teto doing something alone was about as likely as hell freezing over.

Teto put on a look of mock-surprise. "You make it sound like it's so easy! I assure you, I did all in my power to escape, but the forces of darkness are formidable indeed."

"Darkness… right…" said Uta, smiling at her friend's antics, "You couldn't by any chance mean laziness, could you?"

"Darkness, laziness, same thing. It's too much work to keep track of which one is which" said Teto, returning Uta's smile.

They laughed as they approached the front door of Teto's house. While Teto would, under the circumstances of several hours ago, have thought coming back to this house was basically torture, she now had Uta with her, and the "spirits of darkness" (or laziness) were safely kept at bay.

"You know, I bet if I asked really nicely I could convince my mom to let you stay the night" said Teto, not wanting to let her friend out of her sight now that she finally had her back. In all reality, Uta felt pretty much the same way.

"That sounds awesome!" replied Uta, "I haven't pulled an all-nighter in forever. But then again, I haven't had a reason to since I actually study regularly unlike some people I know."

"I regret nothing" said Teto.

As they entered the house, they were greeted by Riko's voice coming from the kitchen. "Teto? Is that you? Could you come in here for a moment? I have something I need to talk to you about.

Teto and Uta made their way into the kitchen. The western-facing window let in the rays of the afternoon sun, warming the room and illuminating a few stray motes of dust floating in the beams of light. Riko was sitting at the dining room table, wearing a pair of reading glasses and poring over a few official-looking documents. She glanced up at their approach.

"Ah, and Uta is with you too! Even better, I can talk to both of you at once" she said, smiling a bit. Teto didn't have any idea where this conversation was going. What could her mother possibly want with the both of them? At least it didn't seem like they were in trouble.

"Teto, I have some news. It's a bit sudden, so I apologize if it catches you off guard." She cleared her throat and stood up to make her declaration. "Ahem. I have decided that in light of recent circumstances… this house is no longer the best place for you to be. A young girl needs a living space that isn't occupied by a mother that doesn't work. So in what I believe is your best interest, I have arranged for you to live elsewhere until circumstances improve." She crossed her arms and nodded, as if to finalize her statement.

Teto was… well… her mind wasn't working too fast right then. It took her a moment to process what her mother was actually telling her. Teto had thought she heard her say something about sending her to live somewhere else, but that couldn't be right. That was preposterous. Where would she go? No, she must have misheard her.

With her best tone of non-comprehension and her most convincing expression of disbelief, Teto replied with a dumbfounded: "Umm… what?"

"I know this is probably a bit sudden for you but I truly believe that this is in your best interest" Riko continued, "Now, as for where you're going…"

But she was suddenly cut off by a red blur latching onto her. Teto was suddenly sobbing into her chest, crying her eyes out and blubbering protests.

"I'm sorry! If I did something to make you angry I promise I'll do better!" Teto cried, tears running down her face, "I'll do all the chores and… and… WAAHHHH!"

Riko glanced up and gave Uta a look. As one they both rolled their eyes. Typical Teto. Didn't even know what was going on and she was already freaking out. Riko softly placed a hand on her daughter's back and comforted her.

"Come on Cupcake, calm down" she said soothingly, "It's ok. I promise it's nothing you did. Also, you didn't let me finish. Come now, dry those tears."

Slowly, tentatively, Teto looked up and sniffled a bit.

"There's my little drill bit" said Riko, smiling down at her daughter. Uta let out a snort of laughter at the pet name. Oh she was going to have fun teasing Teto about that for weeks.

"You're sure it's not something I did?" asked Teto, no longer crying but still looking like she could break down again at any moment.

"You could never do anything to make me want to send you away" said Riko, "Anyways, it's not like you'll be far away. I think you'll probably even come to like it." She glanced up at Uta. "I'm glad you're here too. I've made arrangements for Teto to stay with your family for the duration of this… situation."

Once again, Teto displayed an unnerving proclivity for mood whiplash. Whereas moments before she had been on the brink of despair, seconds later she was practically jumping around the kitchen in glee. She turned to her mother. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" she said before disappearing up the stairs to pack.

"Wow, a second ago she was begging me not to let her go and now she can't get away fast enough"said Riko. She and Uta shared another look before they both burst into laughter.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

"Arrgghhhh. Why does this have to be so complicated?!" Gumi said exasperatedly. She had been at it for hours. She was finding as much knowledge as she could on the subject of laying traps. Unfortunately, it looked like she was going to have to improvise a lot of what she was going to make. There weren't exactly a lot of sources of information on setting traps for people.

Abandoning that search, Gumi had put her mind to work. If she couldn't find designs for traps on her own, then she'd have to make them herself. The only problem was most of them weren't even electrical. Some could be as simple as a net connected to a tripwire. Why was this a problem? Gumi couldn't tell you if she wanted to because she didn't know herself. By all accounts, this stuff should be a breeze for her.

"Grrr… I can handle the most complicated electrical circuits known to man but I can't grasp simple mechanics? What's wrong with me?" she said to the room at large. The mechanisms themselves weren't too hard, but fitting them together was another matter. For some reason, she just didn't get how to go from point A to point B.

Another problem was materials. She had access to pretty much any circuit or computer part she needed, but as luck would have it, that's exactly what she didn't need right then. She needed a net, some wire, hinges, clamps, weighted bearings… this was ridiculous. She didn't own a hardware store. She couldn't even recall ever having been to one in her life. The whole plan was starting to look more and more impossible.

_No._ she thought. _Not again._ _I'm not giving up that easily. I will find a way to make this work if it kills me._ There had to be an easier way for her to do this. She should play to her strengths. Forget about the mechanical, she was doing this her way. That net would be attached to the ceiling by remote controlled release mechanisms wired to a motion sensor. Forget all the tripwires and latches and whatever else, she'd start from scratch.

She cleared some space on her desk and brought out graph paper and a pencil and sketched a rough drawing of her house's interior design. _How should I do this?_ She thought to herself. She thought about it logically. If she was going to resist arrest, then she had to make it as hard as possible for the authorities to catch her. If she sprang a trap on them at the front door, then they could alert others too easily. No, she'd have to let them penetrate further into the house first. She'd make it easy to get in, but hard to get out.

The first point of resistance would be the entrance to her room. Being only wide enough for one person at a time, it was an effective choke point. She couldn't imagine there being more than one or two people being sent to get her. After all, they wouldn't expect much resistance from a teenage girl, Vocaloid or not. She could stay in her room and refuse to come out, forcing them to come in for her. When they stepped through the doorway they would trip a motion sensor that would release a net positioned directly above her doorway. She could then use their confusion to… wait, she could already see a flaw. Just dropping a net on a full grown person, possibly two, wasn't going to knock them over. It would need sufficient force behind it. She wasn't just going to need a net; she would need a net launcher.

Gumi put her head in her hands. This was already shaping up to be ridiculously complex. Where on earth was she going to get a net launcher? Well, she could _buy_ one but she had no idea from where or how much it would cost. Probably way too much for her to afford anyways. Who would sell a net launcher? There had to be a site online that would but Gumi couldn't imagine that they would sell to the general public much less her.

Well that was just great. Now she was going to have to jerry rig a net launcher from scratch, and she didn't have the faintest idea how to do it. How did one go about obtaining the knowledge for building a net launcher? What components would she need? Where would she get them? _How_ would she get them?

She let out an exasperated sigh. This had all seemed much easier in her head. Still, where there's a will, there's a way, and Gumi had the will. If she couldn't acquire a net launcher, then she would build one.

… _Wow, that sounds weird no matter how cool you try to make it seem… _she thought to herself. Well, that was just fine. She didn't need cool, she needed effective. _There are probably a million easier ways to do this…_ her brain told her. She knew exactly what Miku would have to say to that. It would be something along the lines of: "Yeah, easier, but not nearly as awesome! I mean, a net launcher? How much more awesome can you get?"

She smiled as she imagined Miku's reaction. It was her that was really responsible for this hare-brained scheme in the first place after all. If she hadn't convinced Gumi to come up with a plan and to worry just a little less, Gumi would probably still be crying her eyes out and losing her mind wondering what was going to happen to her.

Miku was the real hero, but something about her indomitable spirit made Gumi feel like maybe, just maybe, she could be a hero too.

She could still feel that spectre of doubt whispering to her from the corner of her thoughts, but she was stronger now, and she knew just how to deal with it. Turning to face her inner demon (figuratively of course), she calmly picked up a net launcher and smiled a menacing smile.

That demon didn't know what hit it.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

Several hours later, Gumi had to admit that she was making more progress than she had initially thought she would. However, it had become painfully apparent that knowledge of electrical components alone was not going to be enough. As much as she hated it, she knew that a crash course in mechanics was present in her near future. The wiring and remote control would be a cinch. She could build a motion sensor in her sleep. The problem was going to be the part that actually fired the net. Sure, if you just gave her a launching mechanism, she could wire it up just fine, but ask her to build one herself? That's where things got tricky.

And besides that, there were all sorts of other factors to consider as well. How much force would need to be applied to knock a person off their feet? What was the optimum angle for the net to come from? How was she going to build this thing and keep it hidden from her parents?

That last question had given her a fair amount to think about when it first came up. She couldn't let them find out. If they knew what she was up to they'd flip. Opposing the military? Openly defying government policy? Assaulting law enforcement personnel? She would never hear the end of it. She knew they had her best interests at heart but when it came down to it, they weren't Vocaloids and Gumi was. It wouldn't be them being taken away when the hammer came down.

She knew that they would do everything in their power to protect her, but she also knew that that would get them in trouble too. No, she had to do this alone. Maybe she'd contact them and tell them after the fact, but not before. They must not get involved.

She looked down at the paper on the desk in front of her. It was littered with scribbles and shorthand notes as well as a few rough sketches of what she had in mind. By no means was it a design for a functional net launcher, but it was a start.

Stretching, Gumi glanced at the clock. 2:00 AM. She had been at this forever and she had barely made any progress. But some progress was better than no progress. She _would_ do it… eventually. Fortunately for her, she had all the time in the world.

For now though, it was time for bed. Yawning, she switched off her desk lamp and slipped into her pajamas. As she got into bed it hit her again how utterly ridiculous the idea of setting up a net launcher in her room was.

Ok, maybe it was ridiculous, but Gumi couldn't deny that the whole thing had a very Miku-ish feel to it. This was the kind of thing that Miku would think up. Heck, she'd do it just because it would be fun. Well, assuming Miku could get her hands on a net launcher, that is (and somehow, Gumi thought that she would find a way).

Miku's insanity was a special brand of crazy. She could come up with an idea that everyone but her would think was nonsense. They would keep telling her that it was a bad idea, telling her that it could never work… until it did. She had a gift for being able to tell just what would work.

_I guess she's rubbing off on me_ Gumi thought. Strangely enough, it didn't bother her. This may not be the most logical plan, but man did it feel cool. It was like something out of a movie. Is this how Miku thought about everything? It didn't feel very smart, but it did have a certain undeniable flair to it.

Whatever, too tired to think now. As she fell asleep, Gumi wondered if maybe she'd wake up and all of this would have turned out to be a dream. If you'd told her a month ago that she would be building a net launcher for the express purpose of incapacitating someone, she would have assumed that you had some sort of mental disorder and would have tried to put as much distance between the two of you as she could.

Now? Now she'd probably ask you if you knew any good tips.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

In the movies, when a child must leave the care of their parents, there is often a tearful goodbye and an emotional outpouring from both parties as they express the unbreakable bond of family.

This is not a movie.

Teto was like a tornado as she moved about the house collecting everything she needed for her "trip". Inevitably, this included about half the junk in her room (Yes, junk. Not even Gumi could find a use for some of that stuff). After around an hour of trying to shove everything into suitcases, even Teto had to admit that she was going to have to leave some stuff behind.

"For God's sake Teto how long does it take you to…?" Uta stopped when she saw the veritable mountain of luggage that Teto had accumulated in the center of her room. "Oh no. No no no! You are NOT bringing half this house with you! We don't have a guest room and there is no way in hell that all this is going to fit in mine!"

"Awww… but Uta!" Teto whined, giving Uta her patented puppy dog eyes. They had no discernable effect whatsoever. Uta stood firm. She locked eyes with Teto and took the full brunt of the attack.

Slowly but surely, Teto's resolve faltered and she eventually gave in. "Ok" she pouted, "I'll put some stuff back…" She shuffled over to one of the suitcases and dejectedly began to unpack it. She muttered to herself as she did, saying things like "well I have to keep that" and "can't go without that". Uta watched her bemusedly. She was glad to see her friend so happy, but she couldn't help but think that staying in the same house as Teto 24/7 was going to be quite the adventure. Luckily for Uta she had watched her get up in the morning enough that she knew it took an unearthly amount of effort to wake her up. Also, when she was tired, her tendency for crashing into things was roughly doubled.

Breakfast was another matter entirely. Teto had trouble making certain choices. What to eat was one of them. Usually she had to have someone make the decision for her or else she'd spend so long deciding that she'd run out of time.

She enjoyed long showers. VERY long showers. It was not uncommon for Teto to spend an hour just standing there, enjoying the warmth. It had caused her to be late for class on several occasions, but Teto argued that there was no substitute for a good morning shower and that it was the only thing that could truly prepare her for the rest of the day.

And then there was the hair. Oh don't get her started on the hair. Teto had a… unique hairstyle, to say the least. Those peculiar twin drills were demons in their own right. If Teto put the same amount of effort into studying as she did with that ridiculous hairstyle, she'd be valedictorian for sure. Teto maintained that her hairstyle was one of her defining features and forcing her to change it was akin to forcing her to change who she was. Certainly it gave her a flair all her own.

Uta now knew that packing suitcases (and unpacking them, coincidentally) was something else that Teto liked to take her time with. Maybe Teto had the right idea. Maybe we should all take a leaf out of her book and take it slow once in a while. You know, smell the roses and all that. Then again, maybe Teto just took so long to do things because she spaced out so often. Like right now, for instance.

Uta tapped her on the shoulder and gave her a look that said "Anybody home?"

"You know, despite my laid back attitude, I actually have a desire to get out of here before the next ice age sets in" said Uta, jokingly, "I'm going back downstairs, I want to see you down there packed and ready in ten minutes, or I'm leaving without you."

"Why do you always have to be so mean?"asked Teto, trying another unsuccessful attempt at her puppy dog eyes.

"Because if nothing had a deadline, you'd procrastinate until the universe ended" she replied, "Someone has to keep you on track."

"Fine" Teto said, crossing her arms, "But if you're going to make me move at a speed outside of my comfort zone of "leisurely" I'm going to require compensation. You owe me food."

"No promises" said Uta as she left the room. Honestly, if anyone but Teto said she owed her for asking them to hurry up, she'd probably hit them. But with Teto, it was just amusing, and she didn't really mind anyways. At the bottom of the stairs she passed the entrance to the kitchen. She was about to continue to the front door to wait for Teto when the sound of someone lightly sobbing reached her ears.

Cautiously looking around the corner an awkward sight greeted her eyes. Riko Kasane was sitting at the kitchen table, crying. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she buried her face in her hands and shook with unrepressed grief. Uta didn't know what to make of the situation, but she had a sudden desire to make sure that she wasn't seen. Mrs. Kasane had always struck her as a very forthright and strong individual. The crying, sobbing form wracked with despair before her did not fit her mental image at all.

Uta decided to hide until the crying stopped and then act like she had just shown up. She didn't want it to seem like she was eavesdropping (even though, she told herself mentally, that was _exactly_ what she was doing). But, as the minutes stretched on, it became clear that Riko had no intention of stopping any time soon. Uta decided to quietly retreat back up the stairs. Silently, she began to step backwards.

Karma was not on her side.

The first floorboard her foot landed on took this most inopportune of moments to creak very loudly. In the kitchen, Riko gave a small "eep!" of surprise and spun around in her chair, catching Uta's now frozen form partially hidden behind the corner.

"Uh… Mrs. Kasane, I'm sorry. I-I was just…" Uta stuttered awkwardly, grasping frantically for something to say.

"Oh, Uta, I didn't notice you there…" said Riko, avoiding meeting Uta's gaze, "Please, come in."

Uta would have liked nothing better at that moment than for a rhinoceros to come crashing through the wall, if only as a distraction. But the both of them were now bound by the unspoken laws of awkward conversation. She stepped uneasily into the kitchen.

There was complete silence as both women tried to think of something to say. Uta had never felt this awkward before in her life. Should she ask what was wrong? Would that be appropriate? Shuffling through the possibilities, her mind settled on "stand silently and perpetuate the tension in the room". The silence stretched to uncomfortable lengths. Great, mission accomplished.

If Uta thought the situation was awkward before, she was wrong. When Riko finally spoke, she redefined the word:

"Do you think I'm a bad mother?"

Well that came out of nowhere. Riko was still averting her eyes, as if she was ashamed that she had accidentally let Uta see her weakness. She fidgeted nervously, and bit her bottom lip as if preparing herself to hear Uta confirm her fears. Uta, however, was far from being able to speak properly, let alone tell her best friend's mother that she was a sub-par parent.

The silence came back, only now it was even worse because Uta knew that she couldn't just stand there and not answer. When she finally decided on something to say, it was only a single word:

"What?"

Riko repeated the question. "Do you think I'm a bad mother?" she said again, quietly, like she was afraid to hear the answer.

Uta was now recovering slightly from her initial awkwardness and she actually considered the question. Did she think Riko was a bad mother? No. Why would she? From what she had seen, Riko was just as good at being a parent as anyone else. She loved her daughter, even though Teto was hard to deal with sometimes. She worked hard to provide for her. Why would she ask that? Did she think she was a bad mother?

"No, I don't think you're a bad mother." Uta said, and she meant it.

To her dismay and confusion, Riko once again started to cry. Though she had been finding a mental foothold a moment before, this threw her once again into freefall. "I'm sorry! Did I say something wrong? I really don't think you are a bad mother!" she blurted out, unsure what was happening anymore.

Riko gained control of herself more quickly this time. "I'm s-s-sorry Uta. I just don't know what to think anymore" she said brokenly, finally meeting Uta's eyes, "How can I be a good mother if I have to send my own daughter away so she'll be better cared for? Isn't that my job?" She quickly looked away again, realizing what she was saying.

"Oh God. Look at me. What am I saying to my daughter's friend?" she said sheepishly, admonishing herself, "I'm sorry you had to see this Uta I… I haven't been myself lately."

Uta was still very confused, but she could at least tell that Riko was upset about something that was driving her crazy. She moved quickly to reassure her.

"Oh no, not at all. It's my fault, really. I shouldn't have been snooping around" she said, trying to assuage Riko's guilt, "I'll leave now, please excuse me."

She gave a quick bow and started to beat a hasty retreat. As she turned to leave, however, she felt a hand on her wrist, pulling her back.

"Wait, please. It's ok. I don't mind. I…" her voice caught in her throat. Slowly, Uta turned back around and faced her. She felt compelled to ask:

"Mrs. Kasane, what's wrong?"

It was as if Riko had just been waiting for someone to ask her. The floodgates were opened and an outpouring of emotion followed. Breaking into fresh sobs, she tried to speak. "Everything is wrong! How can these quarantines be happening? It's not right! What am I supposed to do if I can't work? How can I provide for my daughter if I don't have a job? It's my responsibility to take care of her. If I can't even do that… then what kind of mother does that make me?" she grabbed Uta's wrist forcefully with both hands, scared of being washed away by the rushing tide of her own emotions.

Uta may have been a bit taken aback by Riko's sudden outburst, but she could tell that right now, she needed someone to talk to. Uta was no grief counselor, but she'd do what she could.

"In this case?" she said a little louder than usual to grab Riko's attention, "I say that in this case it makes you a wonderful mother! It's not your fault you can't leave your house! It isn't your fault that you can't work anymore! How can it be your fault that people you've known for years and years are now looking at you like you're some kind of monster?" Uta had seen the stares and heard the snide remarks people were making about Vocaloids. She found it disgusting. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was intolerance. People could be such sheep sometimes.

Uta took her hand that wasn't locked in Riko's vicegrip and placed it on her shoulder. "I think the fact that you're so concerned with Teto's safety is answer enough for your question. A bad mother wouldn't care."

Slowly Riko looked up into Uta's eyes and gave a feeble smile. "Do you *hiccup* really think that's true?" she asked, her voice wavering a bit, "Do you really believe I'm a good mother?"

"Yes" she answered, returning the small smile with one of her own. She still felt pretty awkward about the whole thing, but at least it seemed like she had been able to help a bit.

Suddenly Riko stood up and hugged Uta. Forget pretty awkward, now she felt incredibly awkward. Tentatively, she reached up and softly patted her on the back. God this was weird. Uta made a mental note to not let herself get into this situation again.

"Thank you" said Riko, her voice barely more than a whisper, "Please... keep my daughter safe. She looks up to you. She'll listen if you tell her something's dangerous. And I think we both know that she doesn't always make the best decisions."

"You got that right" said Uta, and she was glad to hear Riko laugh. They broke their embrace and Riko smiled again.

"Oh, just look at me, rambling on like an old woman" she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve, "You must think I'm pathetic. Here, sit down and let me get you something to drink."

Uta was glad that the tension in the atmosphere had dissipated. "Yeah, vodka on the rocks if you have it" she joked, "Top shelf. I don't want any of that cheap stuff."

"Nothing but the best in this establishment" Riko bantered back as she poured a can of cola into a glass of ice.

They sat there and joked for another twenty minutes (Teto's time limit now long passed) before they finally heard Teto coming down the stairs. She was dragging the most overstuffed suitcase either of them had ever seen. "What?" she said, looking at the pair of them, "It's not like I could just leave my stuffed animal collection!"

The pair burst into laughter once more.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

When they finally got around to actually leaving, the sun was setting. Its orange rays shone through the windows and lent the house a peaceful air. The three inhabitants of said house were gathered before an open front door. Uta helping Teto drag her ridiculous suitcase through the doorway.

Riko watched the pair from the hallway, a sad smile on her face. She knew it was for the best, but she would still be staying in a very lonely house tonight.

They finally got the gargantuan luggage out the door and onto the outside walkway (Uta thanked the heavens that it had wheels). Riko walked out to give Teto a hug and kiss on the forehead.

"Mom, not in front of Uta, come on" she protested, but Riko would not be deterred.

"Oh no, don't mind me. I would never notice the fact that my best friend is such a momma's girl" Uta teased. Teto huffed and crossed her arms.

Riko turned to face Uta and gave her a knowing look. "Take care of my daughter, will you? Make sure she stays out of trouble and eats her vegetables and all that."

Uta snapped to attention and gave a stiff salute. "You can count on me ma'am! Your daughter will be safe and sound." Then she smiled. Turning to Teto, she continued "Come on you. We still have to lug this abomination all the way to my house." As they walked to the front gate, Riko heard Uta snicker and look at Teto.

"Heh, Drill Bit, huh?" she prodded.

"Shut it" said Teto crossly.

Riko watched them go, smiling and waving till they rounded the corner and disappeared from view. But when they could no longer see them, her smile slowly faded. She simply stood there for a while, staring at the spot where they had vanished. Finally she sighed and turned around, walking back inside. As the door closed, a single tear ran slowly down her cheek.

*********************************End of Chapter*********************************

Hello all my wonderful readers! How have you been? I've been just dandy what with trying to get this dang chapter finished. This chapter has broken my current record for longest chapter at 21 pages, slightly edging out chapter 3. On a related note, I have imposed a page length criteria on myself for every chapter in the future. Each chapter will have a 20 page minimum length, so you'll get way more Vocaloid goodness per update. Additionally, I am also setting a 9,001 word minimum per chapter as well (because if it's not over 9000, it's power level isn't high enough). This means that pages will be more full, and paragraphs will be longer.

In addition to those changes, I am also making a concentrated effort to improve the quality of my writing. I'm not saying that it was ever bad, but I'm always looking to better myself. I've been reading a lot of good fanfiction lately and I've been taking tips from other author's writing. As I've said before, there is much we can learn from each other. You may have noticed some slight changes in my writing style in this chapter. That's because I was making an effort to be more descriptive. Did it work? Was this better? Or did you prefer it the other way around? Send me your thoughts!

Concerning the chapter itself, I like to think of this as the calm before the storm. This chapter, coupled with the upcoming chapter 9 (look forward to it) are meant to show the different characters reactions and different methods of dealing with the quarantines. Whereas this chapter focused mainly on Gumi and Teto (Uta and Riko included), chapter 9 will focus on Miku and Luka. You may recall that at the end of chapter 7, Miku told Luka that she wanted to step up her training. Well, Luka is only too happy to oblige her. But Miku may get more than she bargained for.

I am currently planning for chapter 10 to be the point where I bring the first major story arc to its climax and start laying out the framework for the next one. Expect Drama, expect fighting, and expect awesomeness, because it will have those in spades.

And now, without further ado, I give you my musical inspirations for this chapter. Starting off with number one…

"Moratorium Drive" – This song by Gumi has a really upbeat feel to it. I don't know for the life of me what the lyrics are because I don't speak Japanese but the melody and feel of the song stuck out to me. It inspired the part where Gumi is trying to come up with a plan. Why she comes up with a net launcher? Who can say. But we'll see if it's effective or not. I couldn't find a subbed version or a link to the original video, so I apologize for that.

Link to Youtube Video: watch?v=LBpapsGBtG8

"Packaged" – This is the song that inspired Teto's character for this story. I used this song for the entirety of Teto, Uta, and Riko's scene. It's a pretty awesome song that I feel encompasses Teto's true personality. You'll find out what I mean by that in the next few chapters. Believe me, you ain't seen nothin' yet =).

Link to Original Video: .jp/watch/sm6610855

Link to Youtube Video: watch?v=JbljT7ADPek

Those are the only two for this chapter! Seems a bit strange that my longest chapter yet was inspired by only two songs… well, I suppose good music begets good writing! As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

Oh yeah, because I don't want anyone to delude themselves into thinking I'm that talented, please remember that none of these songs belong to me. I had no part in their creation and all credit should be given to the original creators. They do amazing work and we wouldn't want to take away from that.

Check my profile for periodic updates. I like to post updates on how the current chapter is coming along.

Also, review! I know I say this every single time, but review! I love reviews! And if you don't review, tell your friends! Tell your family! Tell random people on the street! Nothing makes me happier than when people read my work! Just make sure you give me credit ;)

Anyways, that's all for this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! Also, before I forget, happy early Valentine's Day to everyone! This is AnarchySong, signing off!


	9. Solar Originality! A Dive into Trouble!

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

************************************Chapter 9**********************************

_Miku walked straight up to her, looked her in the eyes, and said:_

"_I think it's time we stepped up my training."_

_Luka was surprised for a moment, then she smiled._

"_What did you have in mind?"_

Whatever Miku had had in mind when she had asked that of Luka, it certainly hadn't been this! She ducked, dodged, weaved, and rolled to avoid the veritable firestorm of vocal energy bolts raining down on her head.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Luka yelled, all the while throwing more and more energy blasts, "A real enemy is going to be way more accurate than this!" as if to accentuate her point, one of the blasts landed inches from Miku, knocking her over. She quickly rolled over onto all fours and gathered energy in her arms and legs, pushing off the ground to avoid another blast that impacted the space she had been occupying moments before.

Landing on her feet, Miku ran to the left, strafing as a barrage of shots came in her direction. She summoned up those running sixteenth notes in her head and plied her legs with energy to gain a boost of speed. If ever she needed fast, it was now.

It worked, up to a point. She noticed almost too late the lone energy bolt heading for the ground in front of her. She jumped at the last moment, propelling herself over the blast. She stretched her arms out in front of her and tucked her legs in as she hit the ground, somersaulting back into a run.

Gaining her bearings again she actually noticed the tree this time before she hit it. _Why is it _always_ a tree!?_ She screamed in her head. No. Not again, this time that tree was not going to get the best of her. She grit her teeth, preparing herself for action.

As she reached the trunk she placed one foot on it, then another, using her momentum to carry her up the vertical surface. On the third step she closed her eyes and pushed off into a backflip as another blast hit the tree and splintered the wood.

In the air, time slowed. She felt the rush of wind and a strange sensation in her belly, like the world had dropped out from under her. Opening her eyes again she encountered the peculiar feeling of seeing the ground above rather than below. This was accompanied by the briefest moment of weightlessness before gravity kicked in again, pulling her down.

She arched her back, bringing her body upright again as her feet touched down. But her momentum was too great and she overbalanced, stumbling backwards a few steps before falling flat on her ass. She turned her head just in time to see an energy blast on a collision course with her face. With no time to move she brought her arms up to shield herself, bracing for impact…

It never came. Just as the blast reached her, Luka clenched her hand shut and the blast dissipated, hitting Miku with nothing more than a slight gust of wind. "Your reaction time needs work" came Luka's voice from her position near the house. "It took you way too long to get the hang of it."

"What do you mean it took me too long?" she asked indignantly, "You just said 'dodge' and started attacking me! What was I supposed to do?"

"I would have thought that the meaning of the word dodge would have been clear" said Luka, raising an eyebrow, "Would you have preferred 'move' or 'don't get hit'? Oh, how about 'I'm going to start blasting you now, better get out of the way if you don't want to get blown up'? Sorry Miku, but you're the one who asked me to step it up. You reap what you sow in this case."

Miku couldn't argue with that. Well, actually she could but she knew it wouldn't get her anywhere. The option was still tempting though. She had in fact asked Luka to make her training more intense. So it made sense that now she had to put up or shut up.

But even though she was complaining, she couldn't deny that this training was more like what she had originally imagined. It was pretty difficult, but it was definitely interesting to say the least. Even so, Luka had told her that they were still working on the basics. If this was basic, then Miku could only wonder what the advanced stuff was like.

"Fine, fine, whatever" she intoned, waving her hand dismissively, "So what's next then?" Despite her outward attitude, she was actually eager to continue.

Luka gave her a searching look and suddenly took on a more serious tone. "Miku, before we go any further with this, there's something I need to know" she said, crossing her arms, "It's a very simple question, but it's one that every fighter must ask themselves at some point."

She pointed directly at Miku and said in an authoritative voice: "Miku Hatsune, why do you fight?"

Okay… that came out of nowhere. she could have a least _tried_ to make some sort of segue.

"Uh, what?" Miku would have thought it was obvious. It was because she enjoyed it. "It's what I'm good at. I thought I already told you."

"That isn't what I meant" Luka replied, crossing her arms once more, "Every fighter needs a reason to fight. It's that one central purpose that drives them. Just fighting for the sake of fighting or just because you like it isn't a reason. If you want to be a true fighter, then you need a purpose. Otherwise it's just pointless violence."

Great, another one of Luka's philosophical quandaries. She wasn't good at these. Couldn't Luka just stick to trying to blow her up? At least then she wouldn't have to use her brain so much. Of course, these things did usually end up making some sort of sense once they were done with.

Miku thought about it for a moment. Why did she want to be a fighter in the first place? She had been fighting for as long as she could remember. Ever since she was a child, it had been her favorite thing in the world. Nothing felt as exhilarating as being in a good brawl. Two people pitting themselves against one another to see who could outperform the other. To her, it was the ultimate form of competition, the logical endpoint of her naturally competitive personality. But hadn't Luka just said that fighting only because you enjoy it wasn't really a reason to be a fighter? If that was the case then Miku wasn't sure why she wanted to fight.

She knew that fighting was a part of who she was. It was more than just a hobby or pastime for her. It was an intrinsic part of her being. But why? Why did it hold such significance to her? What made her want to dedicate her life to it? Why was it that she felt compelled to fight, even though there might not even necessarily be a need for it? Miku didn't have answers to any of these questions.

"I don't know" she said simply, "I really couldn't tell you why fighting is important for me. I just know that there's nothing else I would rather do. I know that if I can't be a fighter, then life isn't worth living anymore."

Luka gave her a small smile. "That's good. Don't worry. There's no hurry to figure it out. It's something that comes with time. You'll get it eventually."

Miku was silent for a moment, then she asked: "Ok, I get that I need to have a reason, but why? Why is it so important?"

Luka didn't hesitate at all with her answer. "It's because without a purpose fighting doesn't have any meaning to it."

Ok then… That pretty much sounded like a redundant statement. If something doesn't have a purpose, then it's meaningless, that goes without saying. Miku wasn't sure how that was supposed to answer her question.

Seeing the puzzled look on her face, Luka continued. "Let me explain. You see, every great fighter in history had a purpose. I have one, my master had one, his master before him had one… you get the picture. The point is this: the purpose you have is more than just a reason for fighting; it's a reason for living. A true fighter takes their purpose into their personality and it defines a part, if not all, of who they are."

Luka looked at Miku and saw that she still had the same look of non-comprehension. She sighed and thought for a moment. "How can I explain..." She said to herself. Then she snapped her fingers. "Ah ha!"

"How about this?" she said, "Think of it like a sandwich."

"A… sandwich?" Miku didn't quite understand what Luka was getting at, even if she did appreciate the food metaphor.

"Yeah, it's exactly like a sandwich" Luka insisted, "A fighter is like a sandwich. The filling for that sandwich is their reason for fighting, for living. What do you get when you take away the filling in a sandwich?"

"Um… bread?" said Miku.

"Exactly!" replied Luka, clapping her hands together, "A fighter without a purpose is like a sandwich without any filling. And a sandwich without filling is a sandwich without feeling I always say."

"You've never said that before…" said Miku, but Luka wasn't listening.

"If you take away a fighter's filling then all that's left is the bread. And bread alone does not constitute a sandwich." She crossed her arms and nodded, obviously satisfied with her own explanation.

As strange as it sounded, the sandwich analogy was actually working. Miku could see what Luka meant. What kind of person would want two pieces of bread with nothing between them? It wasn't just a travesty against food, it was an affront to life and liberty as we know it!

"Wow…" Miku said softly, "I didn't know it was that important…"

"Indeed. Sandwiches, er, I mean purposes are no laughing matter" said Luka, "Once you find your purpose you'll know it. You'll be able to feel it. It'll be something that will be incredibly precious to you."

Miku contemplated that for a moment. Something precious to her… It certainly sounded important. She wondered if she'd ever find her purpose. Luka said that it would come with time, but she also said that it was monumentally important. If it was so important, then shouldn't Miku concentrate on finding it right away?

"Well, all this talk of sandwiches has gotten me hungry." Said Luka, grinning, "I think I'll go make some."

Miku was instantly booted out of her reverie as her stomach gave off a deafening roar. Oh yeah, a sandwich sounded great right about now. However, as she started walking towards the door, Luka stopped her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I suppose that was easy to misinterpret." She said, her grin turning evil, "I meant for me. If you want one I'm afraid it's not going to be quite that easy."

Miku experienced the strangest feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach (or the pit that _was_ her stomach, given how hungry she was). This sounded bad. Very bad. If Miku had to rate Luka's evil grin on a scale of 1 to 10 for how bad it was, it would easily be a 13.

Noticing Miku's expression change to one of horror, Luka continued. "Oh yes, not easy at all I'm afraid. You see we've been covering all sorts of basics for weeks now. I think it's time we moved on just a tad. I've been teaching you techniques that I invented. They're effective, sure, but I did all the work in making them. If you want to be considered a true fighter, then you'll have to create some of your own."

Miku swallowed hard. She suddenly had an idea where this was going, and she didn't like it one bit.

Luka narrowed her eyes as her grin grew even wider. "So here's how this is going to play out. You can have a sandwich, but not until you show me a completely original technique of your own creation."

"Is that it? Wow, you had me worried there for a second!" Miku let out the breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. Was that all? That wasn't difficult. It was easy! She already had tons of original techniques! She could show Luka her "Iron Fist Blitz" or maybe her "Hornet's Sting Kick", there was always the deadly "Guillotine Slice". Any number of moves would do (ridiculous names aside). But as she caught the look on Luka's face her momentary excitement vanished in an instant.

"It's not going to be that easy, is it?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"You catch on quick." Said Luka, that manic grin never leaving her face, "It most certainly will not be that easy. I don't want just any old rubbish technique here. It can't be something you've already come up with, original or not. I want a brand new shiny technique that you think up right here today."

"Ok, that's harder but I still think I can…" started Miku before she was cut off.

"And one more thing" added Luka, "It has to be something that projects vocal energy outside your body. Lasers, explosions, things like that. I don't want anything involving punches and kicks."

Miku groaned. Of course it had to be something that required her to use the aspect of her powers she was the worst with. She'd barely learned how to project vocal energy from areas other than her hands and now Luka wanted a flashy technique doing just that? It was going to be a long day.

"You can't be serious! Vocaloids can't shoot lasers!" protested Miku as Luka turned and walked back towards the house.

Without warning Luka spun around and brought her hand up. A bright pink beam shot out of her palm and streaked across the clearing. It impacted the trunk of a tree and left a smoldering, smoking hole that pierced all the way through the wood.

Luka didn't say anything. She just gave Miku a look, grinned that evil grin, and walked back inside. Miku just stood there dumbfounded, staring at the hole left by Luka's attack.

Her stomach growled.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

Gumi Megpoid was frustrated. Utterly, totally, unequivocally frustrated. Net Launchers 101 should be worth college credit for the difficulty it was giving her. She'd had the motion sensors on her door rigged in a single day; but after an entire week of work, she was only about halfway done with just the launching mechanism. To her credit, it _was_ the most difficult portion of the project, but she still had a long way to go.

After extensive calculations, she realized that the amount of force required to knock a human over with a net launcher was way higher than she had the means to make. It wasn't feasible (or safe) to work with something that could generate enough momentum to potentially harm you. At least, not without the proper facilities; and Gumi was pretty sure her bedroom wasn't up to code when it came to safety around dangerous machines.

That was alright though. She didn't need to knock the person over to get the desired result. As long as they were incapacitated, that was enough. So she turned her attentions towards not just the launcher itself, but the net as well. It was surprising how much there was to know about nets, actually. Gumi hadn't really given them much thought before, why would she? However, now that she needed to know about them, she was discovering that there was a lot more to it than one might expect.

You see, a net isn't just a bunch of rope. There are factors that must be taken into account. First off, the materials that the net is made of matter. A low quality rope will result in a low quality net that may fray or break easily. Maybe the net isn't even made of rope at all. Secondly, there are certain things to consider when designing a net. For what purpose is the net being used? A fishing net won't be very good for catching a falling trapeze artist. A net used for climbing isn't going to catch any fish. It's all about having the right net for the job. Third: once you have determined what type of net you need, you have to be sure that you use it correctly.

Step one had turned out to be the biggest issue for Gumi simply because of her limited access to materials. A good net requires good materials and that was something that she couldn't acquire easily. She had pondered the issue for hours before coming up with a solution. In the end, she just decided to forego using rope entirely. Digging through her closet, she found what she was looking for. She had a long length of thin metal chain that was strong yet malleable. She'd used it for a school project several years previously. Unfortunately the chain wasn't big enough to be used as it was. However, as I've said before (and will most likely say again), Gumi is a smart cookie. Using her powers, she cut the chain into sections and used those to construct a makeshift net.

It was excruciatingly slow work. Her vocal energy was barely strong enough to slice through the metal links. It took her half an hour of continuous effort to finish a single cut and she was exhausted afterwards. Still, it got the job done, and that was what mattered.

The second step in the process was actually easier than she imagined. Most nets aren't designed for catching people. After reading up on the subject online, Gumi found that the net had to be constructed just so. The ends needed to be weighted and have a bit of extra length to them. This way, when the net wraps around the target, the weighted ends get tangled with each other and keep the net securely closed. As for what she could use for weights, there were plenty of metal ball bearings in her father's garage. He wouldn't notice if a few went missing.

The last step would take the most time but it was also mostly mathematics and that was something Gumi was very familiar with. The net would have to be launched at the right angle and hit the target in the correct manner in order for it to work. This brought up the interesting point of how she was going to position the device once she finished it. It would need to be attached to the wall to prevent the recoil from knocking it off balance. She was going to have to think up an excuse to tell her parents for why there was a strange device screwed into the support beams.

During her brainstorming she had also realized something else. What if the net launcher failed? What if some unforeseen circumstance prevented it from functioning correctly? She needed a backup plan. If she couldn't take them out, she still had to prevent them from capturing her. She was confident that she could easily get them into her room and into the threat zone of whatever contraptions she thought up. It was as simple as refusing to come out and making them come to her.

Still, she needed a plan B. This second option was a little more up her alley and she knew that she could implement it no problem. By placing thin metal plates on her door and doorframe and running an electrical current through them, she could create a magnetic lock that would be pretty much impossible to open without breaking the door or turning off the current. This way, even if the net launcher failed to do its job, she could still prevent the target from leaving her room.

But when she put a little more thought into it, was there really a need for her to be in the room at all? Couldn't she just make them think she was there? Besides, if the net launcher failed she would be trapped in a small room with a trained soldier and she didn't like her odds in that situation. In that case, magnetically locking the door would just make her more screwed than she already was. Fortunately, there was an easy was around this.

It was simple, really. Make a few recordings of her voice and put them in her room while she hid down the hallway. They hear that and logically assume she must be there. They go in, get hit with the net and then she makes a break for it. Pretty cut and dry.

Gumi laid her head down on her desk. Yeah right. This plan had about as much of a chance of working as a certain warm place freezing over. She stared at the halfway-finished mechanism in front of her. She considered just scrapping the whole project. It would certainly be a lot easier. But then a tiny voice in the back of her head (that sounded suspiciously like Miku) told her that she couldn't give up. And for God only knows why, she believed it.

And so she sighed and once again resumed her daunting task.

**********************************Vocal Vision*********************************

"Teto I swear to God if you are not out of that shower in 5 minutes I am coming in there!" Uta yelled, pissed off at Teto's outrageous bathing habits. She wasn't kidding. Uta was fully prepared to drag her out of there kicking and screaming and leave her naked in the hall.

"Aww! Come on! It hasn't been that long!" came Teto's protest from the opposite side of the door.

"Bull! Forty minutes does not qualify as 'not that long'!" Uta argued back, "How can the water even still be hot!?"

As expected, Teto's integration into the Utane household had not come without its share of obstacles. As appealing as the notion of having her best friend as a sister had sounded initially, Uta was beginning to think that maybe being an only child wasn't so bad. At least that way she would be able to take showers without having to fight for them.

Finally, Uta heard the water shut off. It was a glorious thing, the silence that followed. The door then opened and out stepped a disgruntled-looking Teto in a towel. She gave Uta a look and then turned her nose up as if to say "fine then, take your stupid shower". She then marched back to their room. Uta just sighed and shook her head. _That girl will be the death of me _she thought to herself.

Despite that little disagreement, the two friends were soon once again behaving like nothing had happened; talking and laughing as they gossiped about recent goings-on. _This_ was the summer they had planned for; one where their daily activities consisted of no more than what struck their fancy at any given moment.

The pair spent most of their time outside (thanks to Uta's efforts to get Teto to be active) doing the things that one would expect from girls of their age. They went window shopping, bought ice cream with their meager funds, and just enjoyed the heck out of life.

Yes it was the perfect summer aside from the ever-present dark cloud of the quarantines. But with as much fun as they were having, Teto and Uta managed to push even that to the back of their minds. What place did such dark thoughts have in the summer sun?

And then one day Teto finally worked up the courage to do something that had been nagging at her since the vacation had started: go swimming. She had a perfectly good and brand new swimsuit that she had brought along with her to Uta's house that she as of yet had been unable or unwilling to wear.

Teto had never given much thought to the opposite sex, and indeed, she wasn't really giving it much thought now. Still, she couldn't deny that it might be nice if all the boys' eyes were on her for once. She couldn't help but blush every time she imagined herself in public wearing something so… exposing.

Uta simply watched her friend squirm, at a loss as to why Teto was so embarrassed about wearing a regular two piece swimsuit. She guessed that in Teto's shy eyes, even if everyone around her was wearing the same swimsuit (and there were many girls whose chosen apparel was far more risqué), it was still a big leap for her to make.

"So… are you just going to sit there hyperventilating all day or are you actually going to put on the darn thing?" asked Uta, eager to get to the pool.

Teto's only response was to squirm even more and whimper a bit. She had been so sure of herself earlier. However, now that they were actually doing this, it was a lot more difficult than she had imagined. After several moments of silent deliberation, she jumped up and pushed Uta out of the room.

"Hey hey hey! What gives?" Uta said, surprised at her friend's behavior.

"I'm going to change! You can't look!" said Teto, shutting the door in Uta's face.

"What are you talking about? We get dressed in the same room all the time!" said Uta, "What's so different now?"

All Uta got was an embarrassed squeak in response. She sighed. "Fine. Look, just hurry up! I want to get there sometime today."

It took almost five minutes for Teto to finally change into her new swimsuit. Uta heard periodic shuffling, a few bumps, and one loud crash, but finally the door opened and there stood Teto…

Covered in a towel.

"Oh brother" said Uta, shaking her head, "Look, you're going to have to take that off when we get there, so what's the point of covering yourself up now?"

"I'll… I'll… I'll figure it out when we're there!" Teto replied, her voice an octave higher than normal, "Let's just go, alright?"

With that she walked past Uta and headed for the front door. Uta smiled a bit and had to stifle a chuckle as she watched her friend's antics. Teto might be a lot of things, but a show-off was definitely not one of them. Sometimes Uta wondered how she managed, being as shy as she was. Then again, at the same time she was shy and withdrawn in public, Teto was the complete opposite around those that were close to her. It would be interesting to see how the two halves of her personality clashed.

The walk to the pool was a mostly silent one, with Teto casting furtive glances all about her watching for other people and all the while clutching the towel tighter about her. When they finally reached the pool and saw the crowd of people there, Teto nearly fainted on the spot.

"M-m-maybe we should come back" she said and began to turn around. Uta grabbed her shoulder and dragged her back.

"Oh no you don't. I haven't been swimming once this summer and I am not going to pass it up now just because you can't get over yourself. Now come on." She walked towards the entrance, pulling Teto along with her.

Uta paid the small fee at the front desk while Teto hid behind her, trying to avoid the gaze of the woman behind the counter. For her part, the woman barely paid Teto any heed whatsoever and was far more interested in the teen gossip magazine she was reading.

The changing room was mercifully empty, even though all Teto really had to do was remove the towel covering her and she would be ready. _Easier said than done_ she thought to herself. Uta, who had already changed into her suit before they left, had started towards the showers but stopped when she saw Teto hesitating once again.

"Come on already!" she said exasperatedly, "It's just a swimsuit. Everyone out there is wearing one."

"But everyone out there isn't me!" said Teto, not caring that it made no sense at all.

But that was the final straw for Uta. She was done waiting, and whether Teto liked it or not, she was going out there; even if Uta had to drag her out there. "Alright! That's it! Come here!" said Uta, grabbing the towel and forcefully yanking it away.

As she had guessed, underneath was a completely normal two piece bathing suit. Teto went crimson and froze up completely, making Uta's job all the easier. Grabbing her wrist, she lead her dazed friend through the showers and out into the pool area.

Teto wasn't sure what she had been expecting to happen. Perhaps everyone would point and laugh. Perhaps they would comment on how ugly she looked. Maybe she'd be ridiculed and be forced to live in shame for the rest of her life.

What actually happened, however, was far more predictable. Teto was yanked out into plain view, beneath the cruel, judging eyes of the general public and…

No one cared.

Not a single person so much as glanced in their direction. Why should they? It was just two more people coming to enjoy the pool after all. Teto was still completely rigid, but as Uta waved her hand in front of her face and she slowly realized that there was no scornful laughter or hateful looks, she began to think that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't quite so bad after all.

Uta, of course, had known this all along. "See? There was nothing to worry about." She said, placing a hand on Teto's shoulder.

"But I thought that… and the people… and why not?" was all Teto managed to say.

"Shh… it's ok, you're just an idiot" said Uta with a motherly tone, "Now let's go swimming… please?"

After that Teto had no problem getting into the summer fun. It was hot outside, the water felt nice, and she was there with her best friend. Before long, she was laughing, splashing, and pretty much just enjoying herself to an absurd extent. At that moment, there was really nothing that could possibly ruin her mood…

_Oh wait_, said karma, _there is one thing…_

That's when SHE showed up.

It happened while Teto and Uta were over at the concessions stand, looking to purchase some Ice cream; the perfect complement to a hot summer's day. They would've too. But then…

"Well well well. What do we have here?" came a voice that made Teto's blood turn to ice. She spun around on the spot and came face to face with Yumi Motone as well as Sumi and Suki, her ever present goons. Yumi was wearing a swimsuit that looked like nothing more than a few strings and strips of cloth and a smirk was plastered on her face. As usual, she gave off the feeling of a lion stalking its prey.

Teto's pulse quickened and she went into defensive mode. She brought her arms in close to her body on reflex as if to shield herself from the coming onslaught. Why did this have to happen today of all days? She had finally worked up the courage to show herself in public wearing her new swimsuit and Yumi just had to come along and ruin it.

Uta was by her side in an instant. "And to what do we owe the displeasure of your company?" she asked, throwing out all pretense of politeness.

"Aw, Uta I'm hurt" said Yumi, the smirk never leaving her face, "Can't we ever just have a friendly conversation?"

"If you were anyone else I might say yes but past experience indicates that whenever you three show up the ambient jackassery in the air increases to dangerous levels." Uta shot back, clearly not in the mood for Yumi's usual brand of insulting conversation.

"Why you little…" began Yumi, but then she paused. Perhaps there was better way to handle this than an outright battle of words (which, though she hated to admit it, she would probably lose). An evil smile crossed her face. "Hey hey hey… why the hostility? We just came over here to see if you might be interested in some friendly competition."

"Really? I always assumed you sucked at everything and therefore weren't interested in competition."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Leaning in close, Yumi narrowed her eyes and said "You. Me. Diving board. Right now."

Uta's not stupid. She knew that Yumi would never challenge her to a competition that she wasn't confident she could win. You see, Yumi is actually a rising star on the school's swim team. However, Uta also has an extreme hatred for Yumi. If there was a chance that she could humiliate her in public, then she would jump on it. And so instead of just walking away (like she knew she should of) she instead replied:

"You're on. Who's gonna be the judge?"

Yumi looked around and then sauntered over to the lifeguard stand. The lifeguard on duty was a young man who couldn't be more than 3 or 4 years older than Teto. Yumi walked up behind him, tapped him on the shoulder, and in a bit of disturbingly well-done acting said "Excuse me, I know that you have a very important job to do but my friends and I have a small problem. You see, we want to have a… friendly diving contest but none of us know the first thing about the proper way to judge it." She feigned nervousness, tapping her fingers together. "So I thought that maybe someone _experienced_, someone _knowledgeable_, someone like _you_ might be able to help us out."

She followed this up with a pouting look that would have melted the heart of any man. The lifeguard didn't stand a chance. Strutting back over to where Uta was standing she said "That takes care of that. Let's go."

"Isn't it dangerous if the lifeguard isn't watching the whole pool?" Teto chimed in. The two girls, however, didn't hear her and were already walking towards the diving board. Suddenly Teto was flanked by Suki and Sumi who snickered and grabbed her arms.

"We can watch from over there" they said in unison, escorting Teto to some chairs that were positioned at poolside.

Yumi only took a moment to gloat before stepping up onto the flexible structure: "I'll go first. Wouldn't want you getting any false misconceptions about being better than me."

"Sure. Just be careful not to break the board wide load." Replied Uta, noting with satisfaction the anger on Yumi's face.

_We'll see who's laughing once I wipe that smug grin off her ugly face_ thought Yumi to herself. Walking carefully out to the end of the board she began to focus. Her breathing slowed, she tuned out the noise around her. The only things that existed were her and the pool.

She started to bounce a little, building momentum for her dive. When she had a sufficient amount of force behind her jump she leapt off into the air, tucking her legs in and rotating. Her hair whipped around her as she executed no less than three flips before straightening out and coming down into the water with barely a splash. She breached the surface grinning and looked up to the lifeguard for her score.

A perfect 10. But then again could Uta have expected anything else after the way Yumi had worked the poor sap over? Yumi exited the pool amidst raucous cheering from Sumi and Suki as Uta tried to look unimpressed. However, she had to admit that Yumi's dive had been impressive to say the least. It was clear that the girl had skill when it came to water-based competition. This wasn't good for Uta who, though she was fairly athletic in her own right, definitely didn't have prowess of that caliber. She was about to be humiliated, and she knew it.

Still, Uta's not the type of person to back down from a challenge. Despite the consequences, she would rather die than forfeit the contest without even trying. And so with the understanding that she would most likely never live down what was about to happen, Uta stepped up to the diving board.

Meanwhile, Teto was watching the entire spectacle from the sidelines; feeling quite uncomfortable sandwiched between Sumi and Suki. She gasped as Yumi performed the most perfect dive she had ever witnessed. This was bad. She knew that her friend was amazing but Uta couldn't do THAT. _Oh no… _she thought, _As if Yumi doesn't have enough fuel for her fire already._ This would be the end if Yumi won. Their last two years of high school would be filled with constant reminders that they were losers and could never hope to be anything other than losers. Compared to that, Teto would take normal Yumi any day.

No, Uta had to win or else. But how? There was no way to cheat in this situation. This was it. She was going to have to learn to live in a world where she was tormented constantly by her mortal enemy.

Her heartbeat sped up.

As Uta stood on the diving board she considered her options. There wasn't exactly a lot she could do in this situation. She had no formal training whatsoever and she didn't know the first thing about proper form for diving. She would have to wing it. She would try her best. She'd conquer this like she conquered any other challenge in her life: she would throw herself at it with all she had and damn it she would be victorious.

Yumi had stepped out to the end of the diving board and gradually worked up her momentum. Screw that. Uta was going full speed right from the start. She'd hit the end as hard as she could and get as much distance as possible. Maybe she'd throw in a fancy trick or two if she could manage it. Whatever happened, at least she'd look cool.

_Well, no sense in prolonging the inevitable _she thought to herself. Without further ado she sprang forward, leapt towards the end of the board and put as much force as possible into her jump.

Teto closed her eyes in horror. She couldn't watch her social reputation dying before her eyes. She had the strangest sensation in her chest, like her heart was trying to beat its way out of her rib cage. Suddenly the beating steadied all at once and she again experienced that strange lightheaded feeling she had felt when she cheated on the biology exam. Each pump of her blood became the staccato beat of a drum. That beat was all she could hear as she opened her eyes and fixed them on the diving board.

Teto really couldn't have explained what happened next. As she saw Uta leap towards the end of the board it was as if everything slowed down. Her eyes fell on the tip of the board just as Uta landed on it. As she pressed down on the end it was enveloped by an invisible force and practically jerked downward until it was bent nearly twice as far as it had been on Yumi's jump.

Suki and Sumi, who still had their hands on her shoulders, jerked away as if they had been shocked. They looked at each other in confusion and then quickly snapped their attention back to Uta as a most impossible thing happened.

As the board snapped back to its horizontal position Uta was propelled off of it like a rocket. She launched almost ten feet into the air and at the same time shot forward nearly twice as far. Mid-jump she crossed her arms over her chest and spun. At the same time she flipped herself upside down and then back upright again before piercing the surface of the pool like an arrow.

The expression on Yumi's face was priceless. She looked like someone had slapped her. Sumi and Suki likewise shared expressions of disbelief.

The entire time Teto had been in a sort of trance; watching the events unfold as if from outside her own body. Feeling suddenly flooded her senses again and she gasped for air and clutched her chest as her heartbeat slowed. _What… the hell… was that?_ Her mind raced. She had never felt anything like that before. The feeling had been so… intense. She had felt… powerful; like she could make things happen just by wishing it.

She was snapped out her reverie by Uta's whoop of laughter as she resurfaced. Looking straight at the lifeguard she said "So how many points does that get me?"

The lifeguard's mouth was hanging open. He sputtered for a second and then said "She wins" while pointing at Uta.

"YES! Take that you jerk!" she shouted at Yumi, who could do nothing but stand there in shock.

As Uta got out of the pool and walked back over to Teto, Sumi and Suki shrank back, as if they were scared to get too close to her. They glared at Uta with suspicion, like they suspected something but were too afraid to bring it up. A voice over the loudspeaker announced the end of the free swim period.

Smiling ear to ear, Uta walked up to Teto and said "Well, how'd I do?"

Teto couldn't answer. Like the twins, she was afraid of what had just happened. That sensation had been so strange. She couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with her. She was spared the task of replying however when Sumi spoke up.

"You… you're a Vocaloid…" she muttered quietly, then pointing at Uta she said louder "You're a Vocaloid!" A few people in the vicinity turned their heads at the exclamation.

Uta narrowed her eyes. "What did you say?" She had nothing against Vocaloids, but given the current state of things, that was a pretty serious accusation to make.

Sumi and Suki cowered in fear and shrank back even further. They acted like Uta was some sort of monster trying to eat them. "Just stay away!" they said in unison, "We don't want to get contaminated!" They turned tail and ran. Uta just stared in disbelief.

Several other people who had heard were starting to look in Uta's direction. She didn't like where this was going. Casting a dark glance in the crowd's direction she grabbed Teto's arm. "Let's get out of here" she muttered as she lead Teto back through the changing rooms.

"Can you believe those two?" Uta said angrily as they gathered their belongings, "Of all the lowdown things… how could they? Talk like that could get someone arrested."

Teto said nothing. She was still mulling over what had happened in her head. She could see why Sumi and Suki would think what they did. Only a Vocaloid could pull off what Uta had done. However, there was one thing that she felt they were wrong about:

She didn't think Uta was the one they should be afraid of.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

BOOM!

"AAARRRRGGGHH!" yelled Miku in frustration as the energy she was working with exploded in her face yet again. After hours of effort, all she'd gotten for her trouble were a bunch of failed attempts and some slightly singed hair. Lunch was not getting any closer.

Luka had been outside several times to "check on her progress", each time holding a different item of food. Miku had a strong suspicion that she wasn't actually hungry but was just doing it to taunt her. Wait, scratch that, she was sure she was doing it to taunt her.

She knew Luka well enough by this point to be certain that she would keep her promise. Miku wasn't going to eat until she produced a technique to Luka's liking. This was practically torture. Preventing a growing girl from eating just for fun? Criminal, that's what that is. But as torturous as the task was, that didn't get rid of the fact that Miku still had to do it if she wanted lunch… well… dinner at the rate things were going.

With a resigned sigh, she once again went back to struggling with her assignment. It had taken her a while to decide on what she wanted to do. Luka had suggested lasers or explosions and while the former was impossible for Miku, she was usually quite proficient with the latter. The only problem was that Luka had already seen about a million different ways she could make something go boom.

It had occurred to her that Luka was probably looking for something that would show her that Miku's energy control was improving. That had been the main focus of her training for the last several weeks anyways.

That left her with making an explosion that demonstrated control… great. Weren't explosions more about losing control? Isn't that why they were so… explodey?

With that vague idea of what she wanted in mind, Miku had set to work. Her first attempt involved trying to make an explosion that would only blow up in one direction. Her initial progress made her hopeful. She could get it to go in a single direction, only the direction was random every time. This had resulted in a lot of blasts going off in her face. That happened while Luka was watching (and eating, Miku noted with annoyance) and she had nearly choked on the apple she was taking a bite of when she started laughing uncontrollably.

Miku gave up on that idea shortly thereafter. She briefly considered trying a laser but if she couldn't get the explosion to go the way she wanted, a laser would probably be even more dangerous.

Back to explosions she went. But for the second time she encountered the problem of producing something Luka hadn't seen her do before. After her attempt at making a firebomb failed (miserably, I might add) she was back to the drawing board once again.

This continued for hours. Every time she would think of something that seemed good it would end up doing more damage to her than her target. It was getting increasingly difficult to think as the day went on. The summer heat was becoming unbearable and Miku was sweating profusely. She felt like her brain was cooking inside her skull and all this thinking was only making matters worse.

The afternoon came and went in much the same manner as the morning had. Idea after idea was conceived, tried, and failed one at a time. As evening began to fall Miku's luck hadn't improved and Luka had taken to watching her with a bowl of popcorn from the window. Miku wondered darkly if Luka's teacher had enjoyed watching others suffer as much as she did. Surely it wasn't normal to take this much enjoyment out of another's misery.

Finally she decided that she needed a break. Maybe she would clear her head and approach this from a different angle. She went to get a drink from the garden hose, feeling like she had sweated away most of the fluid in her body. She made the mistake of not waiting for the water to cool down first after having been in the sun all day and received a mouthful of scalding liquid for her trouble. The deluge also drenched her clothes and made her even more uncomfortable (if that was possible).

She wanted to scream she was so frustrated. She did not deal well with being hungry and now she was not only hungry but hot, tired, and soaked to boot. She fell to the ground and lay on her back in the grass, staring up at the sky as it turned orange in the light of the setting sun.

She didn't know how long she laid there for but eventually it occurred to her that if she waited much longer, she would be doing this in the dark. Well, what could one more inconvenience do to her at this point? At least if it was dark Luka wouldn't be able to watch her fail anymore…

Wait… dark… hmmm…

What is an explosion exactly? If you were to look in the dictionary it would tell you that it is "a release of mechanical, chemical, or nuclear energy in a sudden and often violent manner with the generation of high temperature and usually with the release of gases." But what Miku knew was this: It's a big boom that releases heat and often light. Light. That was the key to solving this problem.

She hadn't gotten anywhere with the heat part of the equation. All that had given her were some blows to her ego. The big booms had produced similar results, most of them just knocking her on her ass or making her look like an idiot. But there was one thing she hadn't tried yet. Light didn't burn you, or blow you up, or embarrass you in front of your sadistic teacher.

Luka hadn't actually said that the technique she came up with had to be a damaging one. This would be a lot easier (and safer). The only problem was that Miku didn't have any previous experience to build upon. The only time she had tried making light was on All Splendors Eve, and thousands upon thousands of tiny floating orbs (that she had since decided to call "fireflies") wouldn't exactly do anything for her now…

Or would they? Miku smiled as the first good idea she'd had all day finally hit her.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

When 10:00 PM rolled around and the sun had at last set beyond the horizon, Luka still hadn't heard anything from Miku and was beginning to wonder if maybe the challenge had been too much for her. After getting tired of waiting around for her to come up with something presentable, Luka had gone upstairs to take a nap.

She'd woken up several times as the dreams she had been having all ended with blinding flashes of blue light. Each time she opened her eyes, she could have sworn that the same flash had happened in reality only moments before but the only sight that greeted her when she looked out the window was the clearing separating her house from the surrounding forest.

When she finally awoke on her own it was dark and she chided herself a bit as she realized that she'd slept far longer than she had intended. Briefly she wondered if Miku had made any meaningful progress but the answer came almost immediately in the form of an obnoxious banging on her bedroom door.

"You choose _now_ to take a nap?" came the voice of her student from the other side of the door.

She may have just woken up, but the haze of sleep did nothing to reduce her ability to be snarky. "Sorry, I guess I was just tired after laughing so hard from watching you make a fool of yourself" she replied.

"Yeah whatever just hurry up and get out here before I starve to death." Said Miku.

"Oh this should be good" said Luka, throwing on some clothes and opening the door, "What are you going to do this time? Break your own arm? Burn off all your hair? Maybe you'll…"

She would have continued but she finally got a look at the state Miku was in. The front of her clothes was soaked, the tips of her hair were blackened, and she was covered in dirt and grime. Anyone else probably would have shown some concern; Luka just took the opportunity to break down into a fit of giggling. Her protégé simply glared at her and turned away to walk downstairs.

They went outside, Miku only throwing a brief glance towards the kitchen as if to say "don't worry, we'll be together soon." When they got to the middle of the clearing the stars were clearly visible in the night sky. They shone like a million pinpricks of light on a vast black tapestry. Luka never did get tired of nature's grandeur. Miku was too hungry to care.

"Alright, let's get this over with so I can punch you in the stomach and tell you that you suck" said Luka, flexing her arm a little.

Miku was far beyond the point where Luka's threats meant anything to her. Pass or fail, she just wanted something to eat. Her left eye twitching a bit she shot an annoyed look at her mentor and held her right hand palm up. Forming the necessary notes in her head she produced a single tiny orb of light which she then threw straight up into the air.

Luka followed it with her eyes. When nothing else happened she looked back at Miku. "Well? You did hear me say _original_ technique didn't you? That's nothing new."

Miku, however, seemed not to hear her. Her face was screwed up in concentration and she was humming quietly under her breath to help with her energy control as she held a clenched fist out in front of her.

Luka cocked an eyebrow. Curious, she activated her Vocal Vision to see just what she was up to. Miku's hand glowed blue before her eyes as she analyzed her energy signature. She recognized the simple pattern for making the decorative orbs of light used during All Splendors Eve. Only… wait, what was she doing? It was like the same process repeating over and over again. The glow in her hand grew more and more intense as the energy for hundreds of the tiny glowing balls was channeled into her grasp but not released. All at once the buildup ceased and it all coalesced into a single point. Miku opened her eyes and looked at her.

"I hope you brought your shades" she said, "It's about to get a little bright. I call this the 'atomic firefly'!" She grinned as she raised her hand above her and opened her fist. The stored energy shot off like a rocket and hit the single orb she had produced before.

Luka would remember the event later as the closest she had ever come to going blind. An incredible burst of blue light illuminated everything within several hundred yards. She shielded her eyes with her arms as an artificial sun dawned above them.

The light subsided as quickly as it had come; only lasting about two seconds. Suddenly plunged back into darkness, Luka stumbled around blindly as she continued to see nothing but the image of a glowing orb that was now burned into her retinas. "Holy crap! Warn me next time before you do that!" she said, glaring angrily at the empty space to Miku's left.

"Well, I'll let you take a second to get your bearings again" said Miku, edging slowly (and eagerly) towards the house, "I'm gonna go get something to eat…"

"Hey! I never said you passed!" said Luka, but she didn't have to be able to see to know that Miku was arching her brow and giving her a look that said "you can't be serious."

"Yeah, ok. I see your point" she admitted grudgingly. After that display she would be hard-pressed to find an aspect of Miku's performance that didn't meet her expectations. Sure, maybe it was based on something but even Luka hadn't thought of doing _that_.

"But take a shower first! You smell like garbage!" she yelled after Miku's already-retreating form.

"Like hell!" came the reply from inside.

There were a few bangs and crashes from inside the house as Miku practically tore the kitchen apart in her quest to acquire anything edible. Luka cringed as she realized there probably wouldn't be anything left by the time she was done.

CRASH!

And that they might need a few new dishes as well.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

An hour later Miku emerged from the bathroom dressed in her pajamas with a towel around her shoulders. There certainly was nothing quite like taking a hot shower after a hard day of training.

She was feeling pretty good now that the beast of her hunger had been quelled. After seeing the state that the kitchen had been left in after Miku's rampage, Luka had vowed to never again use withholding food as a training incentive; she didn't think the house would survive.

As she walked out into the living room she saw that Luka had been able to return most of the kitchen to its normal, undestroyed state. Now she was sprawled out on the couch watching some late night talk show, wearing her usual neon pink pajamas (And she had complained about Miku's technique hurting her eyes? Sheesh).

Miku walked around and plopped herself down on the couch as well, Luka moving her legs to make room. For several minutes both just stared at the screen and zoned out for a bit. Then a question flitted into Miku's mind.

"Hey, Luka…" she asked, "What's your reason for fighting?"

Luka smiled a bit. "I was wondering when you'd get around to asking that" she said, "Why do you want to know?"

"Well…" Miku said, unsure, "I guess I'm just curious. What, is it a secret or something?"

"No, no, nothing like that. It's just that…" she paused, a strange look on her face. Was that… embarrassment? "It's just… it sounds a bit cheesy."

Well now Miku _had _to know. "Go ahead, I promise I won't laugh" she said. _Much, that is _she finished in her head.

Luka sighed. "Alright, here's how it happened. A long time ago, I used to be a very different person. I was a mercenary for hire, a bounty hunter. Actually, we both were…" Her eyes looked off into the distance.

"You and Haku, you mean?" Miku asked.

"Yeah, me and Haku…" Luka smiled a little as she remembered it fondly, "We had just completed our training under Master Kamui and after we said our goodbyes we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do now that we were on our own. After all, our skill sets didn't really make getting a regular job an option. So we settled on the one thing we knew how to do: fight."

Miku sat in awe. That… that was so… cool! But Luka was far from finished.

"Before we ever started bounty hunting we set up a code for ourselves. We would never kill a target unless it was an absolute last resort. Second, no solo jobs. If we did anything, we did it together and we split the profits between us. Third, no glory mongering. If fame was offered to us, we would take it, but we would never purposefully go out of our way to make a name for ourselves."

Luka sighed. "And then we actually got our first real job. There was man. A serial killer who had murdered eight people. He was a Vocaloid by the name of Kazuki. It took us three weeks of searching but we finally cornered him in tiny run-down bar in Suzaraki City. The fight that followed was… brutal. There was a reason he'd been able to evade authorities for so long. Both Haku and I came away from the fight with serious injuries."

She rolled up her sleeve and showed Miku a scar that ran from her elbow to her shoulder.

"I almost lost my arm. If Haku hadn't been there, I would have. In the end, though, we managed to subdue him and turn him over to the police. They even called in the special ops division because he was considered so dangerous."

"That's so awesome!" piped up Miku. She had stars in her eyes wondering what it would be like to bring down a dangerous criminal. However, Luka's next statement quelled her enthusiasm.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? I probably would have too, but Haku and I had done extensive research on him before we actually caught up to him. What we found was actually pretty sad. See, he used to be a reputable competitor on the Vocaloid championship fighting circuit. But during one of his matches, he accidentally killed his opponent. It was an honest accident. He was never charged with a crime but the scandal forced him to quit professional fighting forever."

"I don't get it" said Miku, "He got kicked out of competition so he started killing people all over the place?"

"Yes, in a way. That was his purpose, Miku. His career was the reason he fought. That's what he lived for. When that got taken away… he lost sight of his purpose."

That was pretty heavy stuff. It suddenly became a bit clearer to Miku just how much a fighter's purpose meant to them. She sat in silence for a moment, trying to fully comprehend.

"That's what led to me discovering what my own purpose was. Actually, both Haku and I figured it out that very night."

Luka's voice was heavy with sadness. It was clear that remembering all of this wasn't exactly a pleasant trip down memory lane.

"After seeing what had happened to Kazuki when he lost sight of his purpose, we made it our mission to seek out others that had done the same. We vowed to go wherever someone had forsaken their reason for living and fix it if we could, put a stop to it if we couldn't."

Miku sat in stunned silence. Cheesy? Like hell that sounded cheesy! That was probably the single coolest thing she had ever heard in her life! "So… you were like superheroes" she said.

"Well… yeah, I guess if you really wanted to put a spin on it you could say that" Luka replied, "But it really wasn't all that glamorous. We encountered things that should never have happened. I've seen the lowest depths of human depravity Miku; and it will haunt me for the rest of my life. It's a dark and destructive world out there."

That caused Miku to sober up a bit. But… "Still, you two were like a crime-fighting super team! That's like something straight out of a movie!"

In spite of herself, Luka smiled a bit. "Ok, I guess it was pretty cool at times…" she admitted. Then she glanced at the clock. "Good God! It really did take you forever to figure that technique out, didn't it? It's almost two in the morning!"

"Hey, criticize if you want but you can't deny how sweet my 'atomic firefly' is." Miku stated simply.

There really was no keeping her spirits down, was there? Still, Luka was glad for the change of subject. "Yeah, yeah. Get your ass to bed. We'll have a late start tomorrow."

They said their goodnights and Miku turned around and ascended the stairs, noting how sore she was and how great it would feel to finally lay down.

Luka stayed on the couch. She looked at the television but didn't really see it. She had too much on her mind. Once again she had meant to tell Miku so much more, but had again found herself unable to do so.

Memories. Ghosts of the past that pop up to remind us of what we've gained… and what we've sacrificed. They are heralds of another time and place. A moment in history that will never happen again. Sometimes they are there to help us, others to hurt us. But what really matters is what we learn from them.

Luka remembered that night as clearly as if it had been yesterday. Kazuki, drunk, sitting at the bar, had looked up at their approach. He had attacked them without provocation, lunging at them with apparently no regard for his own safety… or the safety of others. The ferocity of their battle had almost killed several other customers. Luckily they managed to avoid any casualties in the crossfire.

The rest of the battle was a blur. But the end was still as clear as crystal.

Haku, hit by an attack that nearly slit her throat. She fell, bleeding profusely.

Anger. Pure, unbridled, white-hot anger. Luka's rage spilling over.

Kazuki's broken body lying on the floor amidst the wreckage of tables, broken mugs, and barstools with Luka standing over him, ready to deal the killing blow.

Haku's voice. Weak, almost inaudible, begging her not to do it. It brought her back from the brink. A simple surge of energy to end his life. But that's not who she was… right?

Her purpose was to find those who had forgotten their own and put a stop to them.

But still… she sometimes had to wonder…

Had she lost sight of hers?

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

Whoa. Just… whoa.

That chapter was a doozy. Seriously. I had so many issues writing this. I wanted it to be perfect for going into chapter 10 and after much work I believe it's finally ready. Still, as hard as it was I also had a great deal of fun with it as well. "A sandwich without filling is a sandwich without feeling" is now one of my favorite things to say. I am so proud of myself for coming up with that particular witticism.

Ahem… on to the chapter itself. Miku is certainly getting better isn't she? She now has the ability to pretty much freely enhance her physical prowess using vocal energy. Of course it's nothing close to what Luka can do. Trust me, you guys ain't seen nothing yet.

Teto's got a lot going on, doesn't she? Well, maybe Uta more than her now. A lot of crazy stuff going on with that diving board, eh? Must be an equipment malfunction. Those things are always acting up. What will become of Teto and Uta? Read on to find out! Both of them will be featured prominently in chapter 10.

Gumi's almost got that net launcher working. By the way, shoutout to my reviewer Mihang for giving me an idea on how to conquer a certain issue regarding Gumi's storyline. Seriously, thanks a ton! But what's going to happen when she finally gets it operational? Will she be able to go through with it? Will it even work at all? Answers will be provided.

The ending of this chapter was particularly daunting for me. I had to paint Luka's character in a rather angsty and dark way. I wanted to get it just right because if angst is done wrong it just gets downright annoying. But it was imperative that a portion of her mysterious past be revealed. What does this mean? Who knows!

Also, I put up a bit of a request on my profile a while back that I'm sure no one read (I check the traffic stats, don't think I don't know!). Rather than write it again, I'll just do some copypasta here:

" You see, as someone who is relatively new to the fanfiction-writing scene, I am constantly on the hunt for good story writing advice. When I started writing "Vocal Vision" I basically just threw caution to the wind and jumped in with both feet. I don't have any sort of structured creative process. When I write, it's literally just me sitting down at my computer and putting down whatever ideas I come up with that seem to flow logically with the story. I have all the big events of the story planned out already but what comes between depends on what I happen to think of while I'm writing. For example, I didn't have the idea for including Miku's conversation with Hachune until minutes before I wrote it. I decided that there would be three tests for Miku to complete before I had even given thought to what they were (Just like Luka, actually). I don't plan this stuff. It just sort of happens. With that said, if any of my readers are writers themselves or if you happen to know someone who is, I would love to get in contact. None of my friends are fanfiction writers (readers, yes) and while I already have an editor who I trust implicitly to catch any spelling/grammar errors that I miss he is not a story writer himself. If anyone would like to apply for the position of content editor I would be more than happy to oblige them. Having someone to bounce ideas off of makes the end result at least 20% cooler (brohoof to those of you who get that). So please, from a writer to his community I am calling out for help. Together we can all help each other improve, and I am always looking to improve."

So there's that! If anyone has any ideas concerning this please get in touch with me! My contact info is available on my profile or you could just send me a PM!

Right! On to the music! The songs this time around are:

"Cat Food" – This Miku song is just really fun to listen to. It's got a bit of a sassy feel to it as well which is what I wanted for the initial training scene as well as scene where Miku is trying to come up with a technique to show Luka. The many times that the song returns to the central melody is like Miku going back to the drawing board again and again.

Link to subbed youtube video: watch?v=mzbupKVcWOc

Link to original video: .jp/watch/sm12774972

"Eraser" – This is just an awesome Gumi song. I didn't really like it at first but it really grew on me. The lyrics are even perfect for my interpretation of her character. When the quarantine happened, she didn't know what to do, then Miku gave her confidence and she made plans for a better tomorrow.

Link to subbed youtube video: watch?v=rElnOTEAjCg

"Hello/How are you" – Teto's voice just kills me. It's so cute even if it isn't the most realistic sounding. This lighthearted song inspired almost the entirety of Teto's scene in this chapter, even though the lyrics are a bit depressing. It still works though because it's about someone who is scared of what people will think of them. Miku sings this song originally, I believe, but the Teto version caught my attention.

Link to youtube video: watch?v=aaHIV_gkBBI

"Sing for the Moment" – A pretty sad sounding song by Luka. Her past does have a lot of dark places though, so it's pretty fitting. I used this for the scene where Luka is recounting the incident with Kazuki.

Link to youtube video: watch?v=Z4Q5S4q2VsA&list=PL247310A1981A5A9E&index=84&feature=plpp_video

Link to original video: .jp/watch/sm9399528

That's it! As always, due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube video links are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

Well, I'm just about done here. Just one more little thing… REVIEW! I've said it before and I'll say it again! I love reviews! The more I get the happier I am! Even if it's just to say "Hey! You're doing a great job!" or maybe "Your story is awful! I hate it!" everyone is entitled to their opinion. The only thing I ask is that you refrain from flaming. If what you're offering is negative and it isn't constructive criticism, then just don't post it at all.

By the way, I set a new record. This chapter is 12,000 words.

Ok, I'm going to go cry in a corner now as the full reality that I have a 30+ page chapter to write finally sinks in. Happy reading everyone! This is AnarchySong signing off!


	10. Finding One's Purpose Pt 1

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

The full title of this chapter is "To Find One's Purpose Pt 1. – More Questions than Answers"

*************************Chapter 10 – Tuesday, August 31st*************************

The day that changed everything began the same as any other. The sun rose, people woke up and went to work, complaining about traffic and deadlines. But it was also undeniably different. There was a feeling of unease that permeated everything. Everyone knew what was going to happen, but no one really wanted to focus on it. It's like having a friend who just broke up with someone and that's all they want to talk about. You know that it's important to them, but at the same time you wish they'd talk about something else.

The consensus of the general public seemed to be to ignore it and pretend like they didn't see what was happening right in front of them. But people tend to do that when they're forced to be around something unpleasant. They thought to themselves: _It doesn't concern me. If I just look the other way it'll all go away soon enough._

But it couldn't, no… wouldn't be ignored. The day had dawned in peace, but now, as night fell, it was ending in chaos. Fires burned, people screamed, gunshots resounded in the streets, and through it all Miku Hatsune was focused on just one thing.

As Luka watched from the doorway, Miku clutched the makeshift phone to her chest. Her hair hid her eyes behind a curtain of blue, but it couldn't hide the tears of rage and despair that flowed freely down her cheeks and left little spots on her shirt.

One word.

"Gumi…"

***********************One Week Earlier, Tuesday, Aug. 24th************************

Could it have been a more perfect day? Miku didn't think so. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and all was right with the world. She was living her dream! She was training with the legendary assassin! What could be better than that? The answer, at least for her, was "not a whole lot."

Yes it was perfect. Well, apart from the fact that Luka was pummeling her unmercifully.

"Come on! You're going to have to have better energy manipulation than this!" Luka yelled as she sunk her fist yet again into Miku's abdomen. "I could have killed you a hundred times by now!"

Miku's eyes clenched shut as she felt the wind leave her lungs. But having gotten so used to the feeling by this point, she was on her feet again in seconds, her breath regained.

She was currently being taught how to properly take a hit. For a Vocaloid, this meant using their energy to lessen the impact of blows and dissipate force. Luka had demonstrated this by asking Miku to hit her in the stomach with a sledgehammer. Miku had been eager to deal some punishment back to her source of infinite discomfort but was quite disappointed when Luka's belly became as hard as a rock.

She was quickly learning that even though Luka made it look easy, it was anything but. The required sound patterns were ridiculously complicated and in order to reach maximum effectiveness, a Vocaloid had to use slight variations depending on what part of the body was receiving damage. Luka assured her that once mastered, one could use all of them simultaneously and not even need to think about it.

For the time being, however, Miku was having the crap beat out of her and Luka was enjoying every minute of it. She briefly wondered if what she was doing could be considered child abuse but quickly put it out of her mind and threw another punch.

Miku's ability to manipulate energy had grown by leaps and bounds in recent weeks. Ever since she had developed the "Atomic Firefly" two and half months before the entire process had become a lot easier for her. She was moving on to slightly more advanced methods of energy control in addition to her usual lessons in physical combat and now Luka was showing her how to merge the two.

But it was theory as well as practice. Luka had asked her if there was any type of weapon she wanted to learn how to use. It wasn't unheard of. There were plenty of Vocaloids throughout history who had used many different weapons to augment their fighting ability. It was less common in modern times due to the increasing effectiveness of firearms, but it was still a viable option. Luka even told her that _her_ master had used a sword.

As far as weapons went, though, Miku turned her down. For her, half the fun of fighting was the fact that she was using her own body to do it. Using a weapon only cheapened the experience. If she was going to beat someone up, then it was going to be with her bare hands.

And her bare hands were getting better every day. Luka actually paid attention when they fought now, as opposed to checking her watch (Luka doesn't wear a watch, so it was more of her just looking at her wrist a lot to annoy Miku) and looking bored. Miku had mastered the basics of hand to hand combat at an astonishing rate. Luka was amazed at her level of natural talent. The amount of material that she had absorbed was something that could normally take up to two years, but Miku had managed it in just under five months.

It was now late August and the summer was slowly beginning to fade into autumn. The days still carried the oppressive summertime heat but the nights brought a pleasant cool. Not that the temperature mattered much. Luka had Miku training at all hours of the day and night. Their schedule was constantly changing and Miku had lost any semblance of a normal sleep cycle. Luka said it was important to "experience a variety of situations" whatever that meant.

Training at night certainly had its differences. There was the fact that it was dark, for one. Oh yeah, that was much different. Miku had thought that following Luka's movements was hard enough in the daytime, but when she could barely see it became another matter entirely.

But Luka had no trouble doling out her usual punishment, daylight or no. With her strict regimen of physical endurance training and energy manipulation exercises, she was running Miku ragged and it was starting to show.

She could see the dark circles under her eyes, the way she gingerly got out of bed each morning, her muscles tender and sore, and the way she was talking less. Luka had to admit, she was ok with that last one.

One thing that had not changed, however, was her determination. Despite the drastically increasing difficultly of her training, Miku was as dedicated as ever. Indeed, Luka thought she could even sense a kind of excitement in her these days. It was as if even though she was tired, sore, and mentally exhausted, she couldn't be happier.

She was right.

Miku had never felt more alive than she had during the last two and a half months. It was like there was some invisible force inside of her pushing her to run faster, jump higher, and surpass her own limits. She didn't really know why, but she felt like she needed to be… better. Well, that wasn't right. She always felt like she _wanted _to be better, but this was different.

There had been a sort of… feeling she'd had for the past while. A sense of dread. A premonition that something terrible was about to happen. As she felt this she also knew that in order to meet the challenges that it presented, she had to be more than she was currently. Something about the present state of affairs of the government put her on edge.

Her dreams had been odd lately as well. There was one that kept recurring night after night. She would be standing on the edge of a very tall cliff. The bottom was shrouded in mist, but she was sure that whatever was down there was not something nice.

She backed away from the edge. Better safe than sorry, right? But then she heard a voice behind her. It sounded familiar but she couldn't put her finger on where she'd heard it before.

"You've got to be stronger or the fall will kill you, you know" said the familiar voice.

Then she felt a shove from behind and she would be forced off the edge of the cliff and fall towards the swirling mist. Just before she reached it, she would wake up in a cold sweat, breathing hard and not knowing why she kept having this strange vision.

But whatever was going on inside her head didn't bother her too much. She had to be stronger? She'd get right on it. If there was one thing that Miku had plenty of, it was strength, but a little more was always welcome.

And so she poured herself into her training like never before. She actually started to listen to what Luka said past the basic explanations. It actually helped! Who would have thought? Maybe that crazy lady knew what she was talking about after all.

It sure was exhausting, though. She didn't think she'd ever been more run down than she was now. Her joints ached like she was an old woman and until she did her stretches before training it hurt to move at all.

There was also a definite lack of energy that she had begun to notice. It was becoming harder and harder to muster the effort necessary to throw herself at her training like she was. Fortunately, (and much to Luka's dismay) she had found a way to counteract this particular side effect: food.

If Luka thought Miku ate a lot before, then she was sadly, tragically, woefully mistaken. No, Miku had not yet begun to eat. The sheer volume of food she consumed was the stuff of legends. The saying "Eaten out of house and home" was dangerously close to becoming a reality.

But aside from all of the negative side effects she was experiencing, there were also plenty of positive rewards that were beginning to become apparent. One does not simply train for hours on end every day and fail to see improvement.

Besides her ability to manipulate energy, her physical prowess had improved as well. She _could_ run faster. She _could_ jump higher. And she was surpassing her own limits on a daily basis. Luka was now hard-pressed to dodge Miku's attacks as easily as she had during her initial testing. It was becoming more of a battle between equals than one between a novice and a vastly superior opponent.

Of course, Luka was still on an entirely different level than her. While she couldn't feasibly dodge all of Miku's attacks in hand to hand fighting, she was still faster than Miku thought possible. Her movements blurred and her punches seemingly came out of thin air. Her strength was something of positively herculean proportions. Miku was strong, yes, but comparing her to Luka was like comparing a housecat to a tiger. If life was a video game, Luka had the cheat codes. It was prowess bordering on unfair, and Miku was determined to one day show her up.

She translated this desire to match her teacher into an even higher drive for training. She strove harder than ever and was constantly reaping the benefits. However, there was still one thing that eluded her. None of her intense training had provided her with an answer to the question that had been on her mind since Luka had asked it of her.

Miku still didn't know her purpose. She could rip trees up by their roots, reduce boulders to gravel with her bare hands, and giant stone wheels? Pfft. Giant stone wheels ain't got nothin' on her. But none of these things could give her a solution to the one thing that she wanted to figure out the most.

It bothered her. She was not well-acquainted with inability. Miku operated on a pretty cut-and-dry system. If there was something she wanted to do but couldn't, she would train until she could. Simple as that. Giving up was not in her nature. But this was a unique challenge. She couldn't just get better at finding her purpose. It wasn't something one could train for. Luka told her not to worry about it and that her purpose would present itself in time. Miku wanted to know it now.

The waiting was torture. She felt like she should be more proactive about it but there was really nothing she could do to speed up the process. She would simply have to wait until the problem solved itself.

At least she had plenty of other things to concentrate on. Like that fist rapidly approaching her face. Oh yeah… should probably do something about that.

She quickly tried to remember the solid, forceful sets of eighth notes that comprised the impact dissipation technique but only got about halfway through before Luka's attack connected and sent her sprawling.

She recovered quickly, however and rolled out of the way as Luka pounced like a tiger, her fist slamming the ground where Miku's head had been. She threw a few pulses of energy as she sprang back to her feet. Luka deflected all of them with ease and once again pressed her assault.

The blows rained down fast, hard, and relentlessly. Luka didn't let up for an instant and it was all Miku could do to avoid being pulverized. She didn't see how anyone could manage to keep enough concentration to fight and maintain the necessary control over their vocal energy at the same time. It was taking all she had just to be able to track Luka's punches and kicks.

She tried desperately to piece the notes together but the most she could manage in her current situation was a chorus of various disjointed sounds. The technique began to form and then proceeded to fall apart completely. Miku took the full power of each blow and she went down fast.

Boy was that going to leave a bruise. Sore was quickly becoming her normal state of being. From her position on the ground (which, she noted, had a very inconveniently placed rock that was digging into her back), she heard a sigh from above her. She opened her eyes to see a very disappointed-looking Luka looming over her with her arms crossed.

"Well? What do you call that sorry display?" she inquired as Miku propped herself up on one arm and rubbed her aching head with the other.

"I call it me screwing up yet again…" Miku replied, casting her eyes downward. Yeah, inability was definitely not something she was used to.

"Damn straight!" said Luka forcefully, "Is screwing up all you know how to do?"

"Hey, it wasn't that bad. I just messed up is all." Said Miku defensively, "Let's just try it again, ok?"

"Try it again?" Luka said with disdain, "What's the use of trying again when you aren't trying in the first place? I'm beginning to question how badly you want this, honestly. It seems like you're just putting in minimum effort lately."

Luka put on a look of mock-realization.

Hey, I think I figured it out! It's not that you _can't_ do it, it's that you _won't_!" Luka advanced on her, getting right into her face. "Forget trying again, what's the point? We're only in this situation because You. Aren't. Willing. To. Try." She punctuated each of her words with a poke to the chest.

Miku was taken aback. She was used to Luka being forceful but not mean. Her words were always encouraging even if they did come amidst a savage beating. Well whatever. Miku was no shrinking violet. If Luka was going to be a jerk about it then she'd send it right back at her.

"Not willing to try!?" she shot back, regaining her bearings, "Not willing to try!? What the hell do you think I've been doing for the last two months!?"

"Oh, nothing much" Luka replied, "I just assumed you were being your usual lazy self!"

"Lazy?" Miku was indignant, "Who's the one busting her ass out here in the heat while you sit on yours watching TV in your air-conditioned house?"

Luka scoffed at that. "Don't make me laugh. If you were busting your ass like you say then you wouldn't have a problem with such a simple technique!"

Simple? That was ridiculous and Miku knew it. If this was simple then she supposed nuclear physics and calculus were also simple. It was an advanced defensive technique and it was appropriately challenging to master. But there was no way she'd concede that to Luka.

"I'm not having trouble with it! You're just badgering me so much that I can't concentrate! This is as easy as it gets! I could do this technique in my sleep!" Miku's cheeks flushed as the fire of her anger burned hotter.

"Oh yeah? Then prove it!" Without warning Luka threw another punch straight at Miku's diaphragm.

No. Hell no. Forget this. Enough was enough and Miku had certainly had enough of this crap.

Right. Concentrate. Eighth notes. Three-fourths time. Steady tempo. Let the melody dictate your strength. The notes are solid and so are you.

All at once the correct sequence fell into place and Miku felt the energy rush to intercept Luka's blow. The punch connected but this time it didn't carry the same strength. All of the force was intercepted and cancelled out, leaving the initial blow feeling like no more than a light tap. Not wasting a second, Miku took the opportunity to retaliate with an attack of her own.

Swinging her right arm around she brought it up palm outwards and planted it firmly into Luka's chest, sending out a blast of energy as it connected. The resulting force propelled Luka backwards and she stumbled a few feet before falling onto her back.

…

Wait a second, had she just…? No way. That wasn't possible.

Miku stood there dumbfounded. It couldn't be true. She had just gotten the better of Luka in a physical exchange. That didn't happen! That couldn't happen! And yet there she was on the ground in front of her; knocked over by her counterattack.

The moment was short-lived, however, as the sound of laughter cut through her thoughts.

"Yes! Yes! That's it exactly! Hahaha!" said Luka, who was still laying on her back, "That's what I was looking for!"

Suddenly Miku was being hugged. Wait, when did she have time to get up and move to her?

"I knew you had it in you!" said Luka as she squeezed.

Miku was again dumbfounded but now for an entirely different reason. Luka was supposed to be angry at her. She had said not twenty seconds ago how Miku was a lazy ass who didn't care enough to put forth any effort. Now she was giving her a hug and saying congratulations? Something wasn't adding up.

"Whoa! I… what?" she sputtered, not sure how to react. She pushed Luka away to arms length and noticed that she had a certain look in her eye. It was that look she got whenever she was messing with her. Miku had the sudden sensation that she had somehow been made the victim of yet another of Luka's frivolous ploys. She let out an exasperated sigh.

"You were jerking me around, weren't you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"You catch on quick" replied Luka with one of her signature smiles, "I figured hey, whatever works right? You seem to do better when you're pissed off, anyways."

Though she was slightly annoyed at the fact that she had been played, the feeling was far outweighed by the fact that she had successfully performed the impact dissipation technique and as an added bonus had actually gotten to see what it felt like to best Luka in a fight, even if she did let Miku hit her on purpose.

"I only get pissed off because you're such an insufferable jerk" Miku said, but there was no animosity behind it. "I can't believe you let your guard down enough for me to land a hit. What's wrong? Getting feeble in your old age?" She said it with a mischievous smile, but the atmosphere suddenly changed.

There was a silence following Miku's statement. She suddenly felt that she may have stepped over some sort of boundary. Luka's face was dark and she just stood rooted to her spot, not moving a muscle.

Then she cracked her knuckles and her eyes gleamed in the sunlight. Miku had the strangest feeling that she needed to be somewhere else very quickly. She leapt to the side. Her prediction came true as the space she had just been occupying exploded violently. Ok, time to run now!

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD!?" Luka bellowed as she charged after Miku, who was running for her life. "You had better hope you've mastered that technique! You're going to need it when I get my hands on you!"

"Gah! Crazy old hag!" Miku yelled as she dodged explosions and energy blasts and… holy crap were those lasers!?

The sounds of violence filled the mid-afternoon air as Miku ran for her life and Luka called upon the wrath of various Gods and swore oaths of destruction. All was right with the world. Well, besides the high probability of a teenage girl being maimed horribly, but that wasn't too serious. Threats of death aside, Miku was making great progress as she added yet another useful technique to her repertoire. But many miles away a certain green-haired genius girl faced a problem of another sort…

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Gumi Megpoid was… well let's just say she was in a rather "unique" position.

The good news was that she had finished the net launcher. It had taken nearly three months of continuous work, but after a fair amount of painstaking labor she had finally completed the infernal contraption. It was bolted to her wall in all of its glory, its barrel pointed directly at the door to her room so that it might take its target unawares.

And that's where we come to the bad news. While her parents were out she decided to give the net launcher a few test runs. After several successful launches Gumi had confirmed that the mechanism did indeed perform its intended function. The only problem was that she had forgotten to turn off the remote motion detectors placed around her door. Upon leaving her room and returning she had accidentally tripped the sensors and found herself the rather unfortunate victim of her own device.

Getting hit with a net moving at very high speeds was not exactly a pleasant sensation, to say the least. If Gumi had to describe it, she would say that it was a bit like being hit by a flying chain link fence.

So now here she lay, unable to move, while she tried to figure out a way to escape her own trap. The weighted ends of the net weren't hard to untangle but that was only if you weren't currently trapped inside of it and had the use of your hands.

She had been stuck there for an hour now; all of her efforts to free herself had been in vain. It was horrendously uncomfortable down on the floor and she was beginning to fear that she wouldn't be able to free herself. If that were the case she would have to wait for help and risk alerting her parents to her entire plan.

However… she was quickly running out of options. She couldn't think of anything else to try… well actually, there was one thing. But she wasn't going to be happy about the end result.

She let out a sigh, realizing that a little more work was a reasonable price to pay if it meant freeing herself from this thing. Concentrating, she activated her vocal powers and began slicing through the net.

Just like it had been before, the task was a slow one. Her meager energy was more suited to very small precision tasks; not slicing through a quarter inch of steel. The difficulty was compounded by the fact that she couldn't see what she was doing. Her hands were pinned to her sides by the net and so she had a very limited range of motion with which to work. More than once she lost track of exactly where she was cutting.

She finally heard a section of chain snap. She could move her left arm a little bit now, but still not enough to reach outside the net and untie the tangled ends. She set to work on the next bit…

…

…

…

Two hours later she had one arm free up to the elbow and she could just barely reach a few of the ends holding the net closed.

The task proved to be almost as tedious as cutting through the chain had been. It was like trying to untie a knot in the dark using only one hand. She made a mental note to never EVER let herself be stupid enough to get caught in a net again. It was one of the least appealing things she could think of; on her list she placed it right above setting your hair on fire but just below having to break your own leg.

After a fair amount of fumbling around and getting the ends even more tangled up before finally undoing them, Gumi finally managed to free herself from the net. She was glad to be able to move again but she looked with sadness at the sliced-up net that had taken her so long to put together. She would have to solder the broken ends back together and that would take a fair amount of additional work.

Still, a bit more effort was preferable to being trapped in a net. She could only imagine what would have happened if she had been stuck there until her parents discovered her (now THAT would have been an awkward conversation!).

Almost as if on cue, she heard the faint jingle of a key in a lock and the front door opening. Her father's greeting came from downstairs and she returned it, letting out a relieved sigh immediately afterwards. _That's a bullet dodged_ she thought _…er, make that a net_ she amended.

All in all, however, something good had come from this in the end. At least she now knew that her invention worked! It was more than she could have ever hoped for, given the low degree of reference material and physical components she had had at the outset. She knew she was good but… Damn was she good! How many other sixteen-year-olds on earth had the mental faculty to assemble a fully functional net launcher from scratch using nothing but scrap parts that they had collected over the years? Gumi wasn't sure of the exact number but she was pretty certain that it had to be somewhere between zero and none.

Yeah, she was pretty awesome. But she also recognized that there was such a thing as too much pride in one's abilities. She didn't want to wind up bragging about herself all the time like Miku after all…

No really, she didn't.

…

Alright, maybe a little bragging was ok, but all things in moderation, right?

She took a moment to ponder the implications of what having finished her project actually meant. If she had the net launcher working and the magnetic locks were in place too then that meant that she was technically ready to put her plan of escape into action should the need arise.

However, it was beginning to get a little boring waiting for the government to announce the removal of Vocaloids. She was starting to suspect that her initial fears had been correct and she had been overthinking the whole thing from the beginning.

But… even now it still didn't feel like the current situation was going away any time soon. If nothing was really wrong and this was just a temporary scare, the quarantine should definitely have been lifted by now. Political parties and activist groups all over the country were beginning to protest the current state of things. Vocaloid pro-rights groups were arguing that the quarantines were beginning to border on inhumane while groups like the NAVT insisted that exactly the opposite was true.

The news had become nothing more than a showcase of all the protests, riots, and assorted incidents related to the ongoing Vocaloid crisis. If this was just going to go away it would have already done so. No, something was coming, Gumi could feel it. It was that constant feeling of unease that was always in her stomach, reminding her of the reason she had concocted this crazy scheme in the first place.

She was sure that Vocaloid exile was imminent. She just didn't know exactly when. Something told her it was going to be soon though, very soon. The government had been suspiciously silent on any policy changes regarding Vocaloid civil rights which led Gumi to believe that they were trying to figure out how to best address the issue of telling the public. If the situation was unstable now, then it was a pretty safe bet to assume that such extreme action as the complete removal of Vocaloids was going to cause chaos on a national level.

And that was to say nothing of what it would do to international relations. The quarantines had the world turning a critical eye upon the government and their actions. Foreign Vocaloids had been barred from entry, obviously; and the entire immigration department was in complete disarray. There was no telling what change this next step would cause in terms of global status quo.

Ugh… this is why Gumi hated politics. It was so messy and unorganized, even though it pretended not to be. Chaos hiding behind the façade of reason and order. With electronics it was a lot simpler. You connect a wire here, tweak a circuit there, make sure you have the right components and if you put everything together right then the end result does what it's supposed to. With politics you could do everything right all the way up to the end and everything could still go wrong despite that.

She knew that the whole situation made Miku furious. That wasn't surprising. Miku was that kind of person. But her anger made her prone to bad judgment on occasion. Gumi, on the other hand, while undoubtedly angry at the government's poor decisions was also not the type of person to let her anger get the better of her. She shared Luka's sentiments on the matter. There was no way that this had just happened. There had to be some force at work behind the scenes, manipulating the entire thing.

But that sounded ridiculous. What Gumi was thinking about was political and social manipulation on an unprecedented scale. The idea that someone could have the means or the cunning to pull off something so ridiculously complicated was pretty far-fetched.

And that's where it would have stopped with most people. They would think _yeah, I'm probably just giving this too much thought. It can't be as complicated as all that._

But Gumi is not most people. She is, as we all know, a smart cookie. So as ridiculous as it all sounded, she was still going to stick by what her intuition told her to be true.

She cast another glance at the net launcher.

After all, it wasn't like she could back out now, right?

*****************************Thursday, Aug. 26th********************************

A sad realization had occurred to Teto Kasane. She had undergone many hours of intense contemplation and had covered every possible scenario she could think of. Using incredibly advanced algorithms far beyond the comprehension of an average human, she had discovered an impending doom that no one was safe from. There would be no escape from the utter annihilation that was about to happen. Yes this was, in Teto's educated opinion, business most serious.

This business happened to be the end of the summer and her advanced algorithms (consisting of looking at the calendar and whining) had told her that this was indeed an inescapable fate. How could the summer be almost over already? It had just started! It couldn't have been more than what, two weeks? Three tops. Teto was sure of it.

And yet, unless someone was playing a particularly cruel joke, the calendar wasn't lying. In less than a week both she and Uta would be thrust unmercifully back into the crushing embrace of the educational system, all vestiges of freedom lost amidst the electric buzz of the fluorescent ceiling lights and the constant drone of endless lectures.

Well, be that as it may, Teto wasn't going down without a fight. School may think that it had her again this year, but it was wrong. Every year since kindergarten she had always had to face the inevitability of her return to standardized learning, but not this year. Oh no, this year would be different for you see, Teto had a plan.

Armed with nothing more than her imagination and what meager monetary funds she possessed she had come up with one surefire way to stave off the depression that would surely follow the beginning of the new school year.

The plan was simple. If she couldn't have fun during the school year, she would simply have to pack so much fun into her remaining free time that it would last her all the way until next summer.

But how to go about it? Well, she admitted that this question had stumped her at first, but using her superior ingenuity and infallible intellect she had… complained to Uta until she came up with something for the two of them to do. Game. Set. Match. Teto. Take that, school!

For her part, Uta had humored Teto and gone along with the whole thing. Nowhere in town was safe from their merriment. Every game at the arcade, played. Every candy store, visited. Feature film at the movie theater? Done and done. The only place that they had decided not to return to was the swimming pool. After their last experience neither was particularly eager to go back.

At the end of it all they had pretty much covered everything they could think of. They had walked every street in town at least twice and they were certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had exhausted every means of fun available to them.

It was at this point that Teto came to another terrible realization: no matter how much fun she had, she was still going back to school. She'd thought that if she crammed as much enjoyment into her last week of vacation as possible, it would make up for the hours of boredom that were to come. Alas, fun is not cumulative, and monotony is always there just waiting for its chance to strike.

So now, four days before the start of the new term, the pair of friends had done everything they could think of doing and were left with the choice of either repeating the same activities or laying around trying in vain to think of something else. But we all know how Teto is with boredom. It tends to make her… we'll say lethargic. Couple that with the intense heat wave that had been assaulting them for the past few days and it was enough to make Teto feel downright sedentary.

Uta, of course, was perfectly content with sitting inside and watching TV for a while. She had long ago come to terms with school and its evils and knew that it really wasn't as bad as Teto made it out to be. Come to think of it, pretty much nothing was as bad as Teto made it out to be.

"Uta~!" Teto whined as she lay on one of the Utane's couches, "We should go outside and do something!"

"Go ahead. I'm not stopping you" Uta replied, not taking her eyes from the screen.

"But I can't go alone!" Teto continued, "It wouldn't be any fun that way! And if you aren't with me, who's going to save me from rabid dogs and highwaymen and tidal waves?"

Uta just gave her a flat look. "I'm pretty sure that highwaymen haven't existed for at least a hundred years (obviously Uta hadn't walked through any forests lately). And what am I supposed to do against a tidal wave? I can't argue a natural disaster into submission."

Teto didn't miss a beat. "You would use your superpowers to stop it. Just use your Sonic Boom technique."

She brought her hands together in the air above her. "Boom."

Uta just stared. "Boom?"

"Yep. Boom." Said Teto.

The pair of friends sighed simultaneously. This conversation was going absolutely nowhere. All it was accomplishing was the perpetuation of Teto's boredom.

Teto wriggled around on the couch a little. "Augh! This is so boring! We need to do something! I am a woman of action!" It would have sounded like she actually had some conviction if she hadn't yawned halfway through.

Uta snorted with laughter. "Teto, we've been over this. 'Action' doesn't mean the same thing as 'lazy'."

Teto shot her a dirty look. "I'm not lazy I'm just… inclined to engage in inactivity." She smiled in spite of herself. "Ok, maybe I'm a bit lazy. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, though. It could just be that I appreciate the virtues of a good nap."

"More like the virtues of procrastinating on every important task ever which, by the way, aren't really virtues at all" replied Uta.

"Hey, I can't help it if homework is about as interesting as a bag of rocks" said Teto, "They're basically the same thing."

"What? How is a bag of rocks anything like homework?" asked Uta.

"They can both put you in a coma if applied with enough force." Teto replied.

Uta just shook her head and smiled. They were the most unlikely pair of friends. She was focused and methodical while Teto was easily distracted and completely chaotic. She still remembered the day they met.

It wasn't a particularly riveting tale, but Uta remembered it perfectly. On the first day of second grade, she had been standing around at recess, minding her own business as she always did, when a bright spot of red in the distance caught her eye. It was a small girl's ridiculous hair drills. Her first thought regarding her was similar to that of most people: "what a ridiculous hairstyle."

But the hairstyle itself wasn't what caught her attention. No, it was the two other girls that were backing her up into a wall. They were a grade ahead as well as bigger than her and it was clear from the diminutive girl's reaction that the comments they were making were none too friendly.

Uta debated with herself for only a moment. Should she go and help this girl? It really wasn't any of her business, after all. Then she kicked herself for even considering that and marched straight over to give those two a piece of her mind.

That had been her first fight at school. As the four of them sat outside the principal's office, she caught the red head she had rescued looking at her. Giving the girl her most sincere smile she extended a hand and offered "Hi, my name's Uta, what's yours?"

The girl tentatively accepted the handshake and replied in a shaky voice: "Teto. Teto Kasane."

They became fast friends after that and they had remained as such to this day. She smiled as she remembered their first meeting.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

"I'll get it. Said Uta, standing up and stretching. As she walked into the other room, Teto continued to wallow in her own boredom.

Uta reappeared with the phone and held it out to Teto. "It's your mom." She went and reclaimed her seat.

"Hi mom, what's up?" asked Teto, wondering if her mother actually needed something or if it was just another one of those "how are you doing, remember to do a, b, and c" calls that she got all the time.

Riko's voice sounded mostly normal, but Teto thought that she could detect traces of something else as well. Was that… fear?

"Teto, sweetie… could you possibly come home tonight? I need to talk to you about something" said Riko in that strange tone.

"Uh… I guess so…" replied Teto, beginning to suspect that something was up, "Why? Is something the matter? You sound a little weird."

"I'll explain later. It's not really the sort of conversation I'd like to have over the phone" came Riko's somewhat shaky reply.

"It's really that important?" Teto began, "Why can't we just talk…"

"Oh my God! Teto look!" Uta suddenly shouted, pointing at the television screen.

She turned her gaze towards the TV and for the second time that summer was shocked by what she saw. The words "Breaking News, Vocaloid Crisis" were displayed in large letters. It cut to a mustachioed man in a nice suit. He looked to be in his fifties and one could tell by the expression on his face that he wasn't particularly thrilled by the news that he was about to deliver.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we come to you now with a breaking news story regarding the ongoing Vocaloid crisis" the man said, wrinkling his brow as he watched the teleprompter that was undoubtedly just behind the camera filming him. "It has come to our attention that the situation, after careful investigation, is much more dire than was originally thought. The president made this statement just moments ago."

The picture cut again, this time to a shot of the President himself standing behind a podium and looking quite grave. He began to speak.

"My fellow citizens, as you all know, the past several months have been a trying time in our history. Never before has our country been threatened by such a strange series of events. Some time ago it was discovered that the individuals known as Vocaloids, normal people like you or me, were the unwitting carriers of a dangerous disease."

He took a deep breath and continued.

"At the time, not much was known about this disease, and we are still unsure of the extent to which this threat could advance. However, after further research on the subject it has been found that the situation is worse than anyone had previously guessed. Vocaloidism, previously thought to be a naturally occurring genetic condition, is, unfortunately, something much worse."

The President faltered a moment, as if he could hardly believe what he was saying. "Here with me is Dr. Henry Shrike, the leading medical mind in the country and the man who initially discovered the condition. Dr. if you would…"

A shorter man, whose suit was a bit rumpled and creased, shook the president's hand and stepped up to the podium. He spoke with a crisp, clear voice and the slightest hint of some foreign accent, occasionally lingering on his vowels.

"Good afternoon. While it is usually the responsibility of the medical community to protect the populace from harm by disease or injury, I regret to inform you that today, that mission goes unfulfilled. Our research has uncovered several shocking truths that are of utmost importance to the public. In our extensive studies, we have determined that Vocaloidism is a genetic mutation. This mutation causes progressive mental deterioration and this deterioration eventually results in complete brain death in the patient. However, this process may take years to make its full cycle and the symptoms in the interim are where the real problem lies."

He cleared his throat and spoke again.

"While the end result is the death of the patient, the patients themselves actually pose the most risk. You see, in the course of this deterioration, the patient steadily descends into an ever more violent and unpredictable state. It is akin to a dog afflicted with rabies. This would not be a problem if not for a Vocaloid's extraordinary abilities. While the condition of Vocaloidism itself, as well as the abilities it grants, is a natural and well-documented condition, our studies have concluded that individuals who display this condition will eventually also develop the symptoms associated with the mental decay, namely the dangerous and vicious behavior."

The doctor licked his lips, his mouth having gone dry. His voice faltered only slightly as he continued.

"This regrettable condition has been determined to occur in approximately 99% of all Vocaloids, posing a most severe threat. It is… it is recommended that immediate action be taken to contain this threat. If such a situation is allowed to persist unchecked… the consequences could be unfathomable. I… I… augh!"

The man's face suddenly twitched spasmodically and he took a step back to steady himself, his face displaying a look of severe pain. Several attendants approached quickly. He shook his head as if to clear it and seemed to come back to his senses.

"I am sorry. I don't know what came over me" he said, his voice sounding a bit strained.

The president quickly stepped back in.

"Thank you doctor" he said, motioning his aides to remove the man who still looked a bit ill. Once Dr. Shrike had been led off the stage, the president directed his voice to the cameras once again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, what I am about to say may come as a shock and indeed, it is with the highest degree of regret that I say it. However, based on the information available, it has been determined to be a necessary measure."

He stared straight ahead, his expression indecipherable.

"Starting on the 31st of August, five days from now, Vocaloids will be moved to more secure locations; Facilities where they may be monitored until such a time as a solution to this dilemma is found."

Teto's blood froze. Her heart stopped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This… this was impossible. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. Vocaloids weren't dangerous! They were people like everyone else! How could the government just…

And then it hit her. It really hit her. If her mother was a Vocaloid then that meant…

Oh God.

Teto was off the couch and out of the room before Uta could say a word. The front door burst open as if someone had kicked it as she exited the house. Coherent thought was beyond her as she ran down the street towards her home; there was just one purpose, one concept that dominated her mind. She had to get to her mother.

She made it there in record time. Her chest heaved with exertion, having gone at a full sprint the whole way, too worked up to slow down. Blowing past the quarantine signs posted in the yard and on the gate, she only stopped when she finally reached the front door. She flung it wide and entered. Instantly she was in her mother's embrace and finally her emotions caught up with her. Then they were crying and hugging each other; incapable of speech as the full weight of the situation settled upon them.

Back at Uta's house, the television had cut back to the news anchor in the studio. He was not making much of an effort to hide his obvious displeasure with the government's new policy.

"And there you have it" he said, his face grim, "Dark days are upon us folks. But In such times as these we must remember that we are all equal. Certain individuals would have you believe otherwise but know that no one man or woman, Vocaloid or otherwise, is worth more or less than any other. Even though an agenda of discrimination may work its wiles we must come together as one. It is the responsibility of humankind to help humankind. Let no man shun his brother! We must fight for our… bzzztt"

The station cut abruptly to a message about technical difficulties. It wished the audience to recognize that the views expressed in its programming did not necessarily reflect the views of the channel or its affiliates.

Uta simply stared. Without a word she turned on her heel and marched to her room, slamming the door behind her. She didn't emerge for the remainder of the day.

*********************************Elsewhere************************************

"Project DIVA has been approved, milady" said a voice from Haku Yowane's headset. Of course, she had already known. She had known since the president made the announcement earlier. She smiled, relishing the feeling of her plans finally beginning to bear fruit. It had taken time, and there had been many setbacks but at last she would taste success.

It had taken far too long to get to this point, however. The attack by the mysterious "Shooting Star" had destroyed some very valuable equipment and had put her plans on hold for nearly two months. Haku would not have believed Neru's account of the incident, had the whole debacle not been caught on camera. However, although she was telling the truth, her inability to prevent the damage was inexcusable. Her punishment had been… severe.

Fortunately Haku was sure that there would not be any more such occurrences in the future. Neru's loyalty was unquestionable, even if she had suffered a momentary lapse in efficiency.

Her other subordinates had picked up the slack very well. Ritsu amazed her sometimes. His abilities were truly a marvel. With that fool of a doctor working for them, the ability to falsify evidence and research had sped the process along nicely.

Her video monitor lit up, indicating an incoming transmission. _Ah, so Kaito actually is capable of a timely report_ she thought to herself. She had expected him to forget yet again and end up having to contact him herself, as usual. Apparently miracles did happen. She pressed the button to accept the call.

Kaito's handsome features appeared on the screen. "Ah, Haku, looking lovely as always" he began, flashing a dazzling smile, "And what a fitting appearance for such a momentous occasion."

Normally Haku would have chastised him for using her name as well as for his usual theatrics, but the events of the day had her in particularly good spirits.

"Thank you Kaito, you're not looking too bad yourself" she bantered, letting her formality slip a bit, "I trust that preparations are complete on your end?"

He beamed. "Of course, milady. With project DIVA approved the department of technology's newest designs were quickly given the affirmative as well."

Haku could not have been happier. "Excellent. I wish you to begin production and testing immediately. We should not dally simply because we are now afforded the luxury of time."

"I could not agree more" Kaito replied, "We shall proceed at once. If there are no more matters to discuss."

"Good. You may return to your station. I expect full reports in the next few days" she reached to end the transmission but hesitated for a moment, "Oh, and Kaito… When you next see Neru, do me a favor and embarrass her a little more than usual, would you?" she winked at him.

Kaito grinned devilishly. "It would be my pleasure, milady. Kaito over and out."

The feed flickered out and the monitor returned to a display of various reports and data Haku had been perusing. She was a tad disappointed in herself for behaving so… childishly when dealing with matters of such importance, but put the thought quickly from her mind. She had to allow herself a few liberties now and again. Acting so formal all the time eventually began to grate on her nerves.

She sighed. Turning around she wondered what was keeping Ritsu. Shouldn't it be about time for…

A loud hiss issued from the pod behind her. _I suppose that answers that_ she thought. As the glass lifted from the front of the capsule, Ritsu stepped out, looking a little stiff, as usual. He yawned and stretched a bit, working out the kinks.

"Man, that pod is always so uncomfortable. Why didn't we think to design it with cushions?" he cracked his neck and shoulders.

"AHEM!" said Haku, alerting Ritsu to her presence. He faltered only a moment before speaking.

"Oh, please excuse me, milady" he said, inclining his head slightly, "I didn't know you were here."

"Consider yourself excused" said Haku, "I must commend you for yet another convincing performance."

"Thank you, milady. I do try." He replied with a smile.

"However" Haku continued, taking a more serious tone, "I couldn't help but notice a small… disturbance in your mission today."

"I apologize, milady" he said with sincerity, "My abilities were hindered for a moment. I suspect that one of the beacons may have briefly malfunctioned. The good doctor was nearly cognizant enough to throw me off but thankfully my piece had already been said."

"Yes, most fortunate" Haku replied, "On your recommendation I will have the beacons examined. We wouldn't want such an incident to disrupt future plans."

"I will have it done immediately" said Ritsu. "Now if you will excuse me, I have some ah… _business_ to take care of. I _was_ in that pod for quite a while, you know."

"Ugh, must you bring up something so indecent? Begone with you" said Haku playfully. Ritsu bowed low and excused himself.

She watched him leave the room, walking a little faster than was necessary.

She turned back to her terminal and pressed a few buttons, bringing up another transmission window, this one outgoing. After several moments, the face of Akita Neru appeared on the screen.

"You called, milady?" she asked.

"Neru, I would like an update on the status of the Vocaloid detainment facilities" said Haku. She was still a tad displeased with Neru for her previous failure, and she kept her tone curt.

Neru's expression was unreadable, as always. She replied immediately. "Of course. Current status reports indicate that the repurposing of the necessary structures has begun in full. Most of the facilities will not be fully functional for several days, seeing as the refitting has only been started today." She glanced up to her right, presumably at a monitor positioned there. "As of now 1,250 facilities have been commissioned for use in Vocaloid management. There are currently approximately 1,200,000 Vocaloids registered as citizens, meaning each facility will contain roughly 1,000 patients, with several larger compounds slated for examination and… _experimentation_." She said the last word with a little too much glee in her voice. "How ironic. Entire buildings dedicated to examining and documenting a disease that doesn't even exist."

"Neru, I have voiced my opinions on this matter before" Haku said, a bit of annoyance in her tone, "I do not share your enthusiasm for these so-called 'experiments'. While I realize that certain parties could not be persuaded without certain promises of… scientific freedom, I am still opposed to the idea. I ask that you refrain from such topics when in my presence." Her eyes had a dangerous look in them, indicating that she would not ask again.

Neru quickly composed herself. "My apologies, milady. I forgot myself amidst the excitement. Would there be anything else I can do for you?"

Haku was about to decline the offer when she realized that there actually was one matter of business she had forgotten about.

"Yes, there is. Please contact Ruko for me. I have an assignment that is suited to her _unique_ talents."

"At once" Neru replied. The feed went dark for a few moments. Then another figure appeared. Haku could not make out any features, save for a single red eye. The rest of the face was obscured by dark hair.

"You require me, milady?" the voice was steady. It had a vaguely cold quality about it, as if its owner didn't care much for the topic at hand.

"Indeed, Ruko" said Haku, "I have a mission for you. I need you to find someone for me; and I expect that it won't be easy."

The one visible eyebrow raised questioningly, intrigued. "Oh? And who might be so difficult to find that you would need me?"

Haku hesitated a moment, knowing that if she went ahead with this, there would be no turning back. No. She had let go of those feelings years ago. She would entertain no further misgivings on the issue.

"Her name is Luka. Luka Megurine. And I have not seen her in many years."

******************Saturday, August 28th – 3 days until Project DIVA********************

Gumi Megpoid was freaking out just a little.

You couldn't really blame her though. It was only a few days until she was going to be forcibly removed from her home and placed into the custody of the government against her will. Fortunately, she was prepared.

That didn't make it any less stressful, however. She could be prepared six ways to Sunday and she was still going to be worried. As things stood, she doubted her plans amounted to one way to Sunday, let alone five more.

But despite her understandable nervousness, she also felt her resolve harden. This was it. It was actually happening. Once again her infallible instincts had been proven right. As unlikely as it had seemed her suspicions that the government was working its way up to the removal of Vocaloids were correct. But that left one question: what now?

The answer to that question came in the form of a rather peculiar device that was currently bolted to Gumi's wall, pointing at her bedroom door. The net launcher gleamed as a stray bit of light bounced off it. It looked rather… intimidating, she had to say. She also knew that it performed its intended function rather well, as her previous experience had shown.

Speaking of her previous experience, she had at least managed to repair the damage to the net. It had taken her almost two days to finish patching it up. She was also dissatisfied with the fact that the breaks were now weak points. She did not have access to the exact material the net was made out of and she had had to make do with less sturdy metals. It wasn't that big of a problem. Gumi doubted that the materials she used would fail to serve their purpose but it was the principal of the thing.

She had also thought of a few more things she might need in her escape. The announcement had said that people should consult their local news stations for information on the exact times for the extractions in their areas.

It being summer, albeit late summer, the days were longer and it stayed light later. This did not work to Gumi's advantage. It was easier to hide when it was dark. She had therefore decided to make her escape and find someplace to lie low until she could move under the cover of night. But the dark could be a hindrance to her as much as it was to her pursuers. Or it would be, if she wasn't a genius.

Fortunately Gumi _is_ a genius and therefore had no problem modifying her trusty goggles with night vision capability. She had several pairs of commercial-grade night vision goggles lying around that she wasn't using so the process was a simple one (simple being a relative term here. Gumi isa genius after all). The end result amounted to the same goggles she had started with, now with really thick green lenses and a bunch of wiring in the frame. She'd have made them better with more time, but that wasn't really something she had a lot of right now.

She had also made one tiny concession on her "no injury to others" policy, at Miku's insistence. But that particular device wasn't done yet. She doubted she would ever use it anyways. It had just been to appease Miku. Besides, she didn't think that under any circumstances could she muster the courage to do _that_ to someone. She shuddered as she imagined the intense pain it would cause.

But now that she was running out of things to do except go over the plan again it was becoming hard to distract herself from the worry that was ever-present at the edges of her mind. She'd suffered a miniature breakdown when she'd first heard the announcement even though she had sort of known that it was coming. It'd taken a few hours, several strong cups of tea and no less than three phone calls to Miku to calm her down completely and even then she was still jittery.

She knew the plan by heart now. She'd run through it a million times in her head. Step one, escape her house. Step two, get out of town. Step three, meet up with Miku and Luka at their rendezvous point in Sesame Town. Step four, make their way back to the safety of Luka's cottage. It was pretty clear cut when laid out like that but Gumi didn't like the lack of specifics. There was a lot more to step one than just "escape her house". It also involved a fair amount of "incapacitate military personnel with net launcher". Step two was missing a bit of "sneak past army blockades on a scooter". And step three felt a little light on the "travel for days on end to reach a destination you've never been to".

But those were dynamic concerns. You couldn't really deal with them until they were actually happening. The present concerns of Gumi's mind were beginning to include "panic about impending capture and incarceration". It was a good thing Miku was so darn convincing with her hopeful attitude.

********************Sunday, August 29th, 2 days until Project DIVA ********************

Oh, did I say "hopeful attitude"? What I meant to say was "barely repressed anger". Two days had passed since the announcement and Miku was just now managing to speak at a normal volume instead of yelling.

She'd held it together while she was talking to Gumi, for her sake (someone had to be the strong one and it sure as heck wasn't Gumi). But now there was nothing to hold her anger back.

At the same time, there was also no clear enemy to direct her anger towards, so Miku had basically been seething with no way to relieve the stress. Luka had forbidden her from holding glass objects of any sort until she calmed down enough not to crush them. She was angry, irritable, and emotionally repressed, and it did not make for a good combination.

Her training was proving to be the only outlet for her tension. Luka had been right when she said Miku learned better when she was angry. They had moved through five different techniques in two days with Miku effortlessly mastering each one presented to her. Luka was half tempted to let her stay mad until she learned everything she had to teach her but living with an angry Miku for any extended period was quickly proving to be insufferable.

All conversation was simple and one sided; Miku only offering simple yes's and no's as answers. She was also causing undue damage to the house. Doors tended to be closed harder than they needed to be and Miku's dresser had been mysteriously moved several inches to the left in what Luka suspected was an attempt to cover up a fist-sized hole in the wall.

All in all, Luka wasn't sure how much longer she could put up with it. She had to figure out a way to channel Miku's rage into something constructive. Fortunately she had a pretty good idea of how to do it.

That morning at breakfast she had said something along the lines of "so… found your purpose yet?" At first she was afraid that she had miscalculated and that Miku was about to go hulk on her. Her eyes narrowed and her hands balled into fists (thankfully she wasn't holding anything at the time). It looked like she was going to explode or worse, explode twice. Then all the tension left her and she slumped down in her chair. "No…" she replied dejectedly.

Ok… depressed Miku. Slightly better than angry Miku, but still quite a ways from happy Miku. She had to cheer her up somehow. "Oh… that's ok." She replied. She resisted the urge to facepalm. _Wow Luka, GREAT choice of words there_. "I mean… that's ok. I'm sure you'll find it soon enough. Don't you have even the slightest idea of what it might be?"

Miku's response was not hopeful. "No, and I'm beginning to think I never will. It's been two months and I don't have any more of an idea about it than when I started."

Well, at least it was more than "yes" or "no". That was a start.

"Miku, I didn't discover my purpose until I was twenty-one. You're only sixteen. Plenty of time" said Luka, attempting to be helpful.

"Seventeen, really. August 31st is my birthday" she said nonchalantly.

"Wait… what?" Luka was taken aback. You'd think a birthday would be more important than that! "So… you just failed to mention it before now. Is that it?"

"Yeah, well there were more important things. Worst. Birthday. Ever." She said, dropping her head onto the table.

Luka was still stuck on the fact that Miku had just neglected to mention that she was turning seventeen. That was only the most important age ever in Lucentia…

Oh yeah… not in Lucentia anymore.

Luka made a mental note to remember Miku's birthday later when she wasn't depressed or angry.

"Ok, well, sure, so it might not be the best birthday ever, but I highly doubt it's going to be the _worst_" said Luka, trying to salvage the conversation, "I mean, you're not dead, and that means you win. You can still fight."

"Yeah, I _can_ fight, but there's nothing _to_ fight" came Miku's melancholy reply, "We don't even know who the bad guys are."

"We can figure that out later. For now we have to concentrate on getting Gumi here safely" said Luka, attempting to direct Miku's thoughts towards something she cared about.

Miku perked up a little at the mention of Gumi. Hey, yeah! She had to be strong for her friend, didn't she? Poor, helpless, defenseless Gumi. How would she possibly manage without Miku's help?

"Yeah, I suppose…" she said, "But shouldn't we be doing more? Shouldn't we go and _get_ her instead of meeting her halfway?"

"Miku, the military is going to be all over the place when this goes down" said Luka, "Your hometown will be crawling with soldiers. If we go in there we risk not only Gumi being captured, but us as well. We _are_ illegal Vocaloids right now, which means we're prime targets."

Miku gave her a look. "Seriously? You're worried about the military catching _us_? I'm sure we could fight them off easily."

"I could fight them off Miku, but what if I'm stuck protecting two teenagers at the same time? I don't think even I could divide my attention enough to do that" said Luka.

"Hey! You wouldn't have to protect me! I could take on a couple of soldiers no problem!" said Miku, thumping her chest proudly.

"Ok, maybe so, but could Gumi?" Luka's logic cut like a knife. "What if Gumi got injured, or worse, _killed_ because we drew attention to ourselves? What then?"

Miku didn't have a response. If Gumi died because of her… she didn't even want to consider it. She grudgingly agreed with Luka.

"Still, it makes me feel useless not being able to do anything except sit here!" she said, "I want to take action, not stand around hemming and hawing and thinking about what might happen!"

"Who says all we're doing is thinking? We're _preparing_" Luka said.

There was that word again. _Prepare_. Gumi used it all the time. She was always saying they needed to "be prepared" but what did that mean? To Miku "preparing" felt a lot like "waiting", and she had already expressed her feelings on that subject.

"Well if this is preparing I don't want anything to do with it" Miku replied, crossing her arms.

"Fine then, let's do some more 'active' preparation" said Luka, a mischievous grin on her face. Miku knew that look. That was the look that usually immediately preceded something bad happening to her.

Sure enough, half an hour later Miku was dodging lasers and explosions and running for her life as Luka pursued her, laughing like a maniac and shooting off bolt after bolt of vocal energy. Luka had to admit that this was quickly becoming one of her favorite pastimes. And hey, Miku didn't have time to be depressed _or_ angry when she was trying not to die!

Sure, it was only a temporary solution, but it was better than nothing, right? Besides, in two days, they would be leaving for Sesame Town and Miku would have to concentrate on that.

So, for the moment, Luka just let out another manic giggle and continued to chase her terrified student.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Miku had that same recurring dream that night. She was once again perched precariously on the edge of a tall cliff, the base obscured by swirling mist. She backed away from the long drop, wary of its implications.

"You've got to be stronger or the fall will kill you, you know" said a familiar voice from behind her.

She _knew_ that voice. She _knew_ she'd heard it before, but where? She spun around quickly…

There was nobody there.

"Wha-?" she said, confused. How could there be a voice but not a person to make it? Could it be… a ghost?

"I said that you've gotta' be stronger or that fall is going to kill you, numbskull!" came the voice again.

A very rude ghost, it would seem. Pesky spirits. Why couldn't they just butt out and leave the living world to those of us who were still, you know, alive?

"Down here hair-for-brains" said the voice.

Miku glanced down and she immediately lost any semblance of confusion concerning where she had heard that voice before. It wasn't a ghost; that was for sure.

"You!" she shouted, pointing a finger at the small figure.

"Yes! Me!" Hachune shouted back, waving her leek around.

"What, but how? How can you be here? You're only supposed to be in my head! You can't… wait… oh God… Am I unconscious right now?" she asked.

"Asleep, but that's really neither here nor there" Hachune said, then she reconsidered, "Actually, it _is_ here I guess, since this is where we are."

"Ok, what am I doing _here_ then?" she asked, but then also reconsidered, "Actually, the more accurate question would be what are _you_ doing here?"

"I live here, you just visit occasionally" replied Hachune.

"We're inside _my_ head aren't we?" Miku asked.

"Sure we are. Whatever makes you feel better" Hachune said with a sly smile.

Ok, it was official. Miku had absolutely no idea what was going on anymore. They were in a dream, apparently (whose dream it was, exactly, was up for debate); one that she recalled having had many times before, at that.

"Oh no, I know where this is going" said Miku, "We're just going to stand here and talk in circles with you insulting me. I'm out of here."

"Out of here?" asked Hachune, "You're more than welcome to jump off the cliff yourself this time. Goodness knows I've pushed you off of it enough. But I feel I should mention, though I would have thought it might have penetrated your thick skull by now, that the fall will kill you. You have to…"

"Yeah, yeah. I have to be stronger" said Miku, waving her hand dismissively. "I've only had this dream like a bazillion times before. What do you think I've been doing, twiddling my thumbs? I've been running myself ragged every day trying to get stronger!"

"You're just not getting the whole 'metaphor' thing here are you?" Hachune asked, "I spend weeks slaving away over a hot subconscious and what do I get for my efforts? A whole lotta' nothing, that's what."

"Metaphor? I thought this was a dream" Miku intoned, not following in the slightest.

Hachune sighed. "Kids these days…" she muttered, "They just don't got the head for all this metaphysical stuff… Look, it's like this: you're standing on the edge of a cliff, right? That represents your current situation. A bunch of crazy stuff is about to happen. And that mist and fog down there? That's all the uncertainty you're feeling about it."

"Ok… I guess that makes sense… kind of…" said Miku, her face wearing an expression of confusion, "But what does any of that have to do with me being stronger? I'm already doing that, aren't I?"

The diminutive doppelganger shook her head. "Why are you so dense? It's your purpose you dolt! It's not about getting physically stronger it's about growing as a person!"

Miku groaned. Why was it that the exact thing she needed to figure out was the one thing she couldn't? Someone give her a hint!

"Again with the purpose" said Miku exasperatedly, "I have been trying for months to figure that out! What's the deal? Is it some sort of forbidden knowledge or something?"

"Oh for Pete's sake!" said Hachune, throwing her leek on the ground in disgust. "Ok, look. This thing we're doing right now? You know, this dream thing? I'm just going to tell you now that you're going to keep having it until you figure this out. So either you hurry up and get with the program or…"

Suddenly she stopped. She looked around and then sighed in an overly exaggerated manner.

"Nuts, we're out of time" she said, "We'll have to pick this up tomorrow. I have places to be."

Miku just stared. She was a mental construct; what urgent appointment could she possibly have to keep?

"Where could you possibly…" Miku began, but was interrupted.

"Think fast!" said Hachune. Without warning, she leapt forward and smacked Miku in the knee with her leek.

"Ouch!" yelled Miku, hopping on one foot, "What was that for?"

Hachune didn't reply. Instead she took a running start and threw herself into Miku's chest, sending her teetering backwards and over the edge of the cliff. As she fell, Miku crossed her arms and huffed. That little demon was going to be the death of her. In fact, she noted as she looked below her, her metaphorical death was only seconds away. She braced for impact.

Instead her eyes flew open and she found herself safe and sound in her bed. Oh right, imminent death usually signaled the end of the dream. She sat up and looked at her clock. Three AM. She sighed. Getting back to sleep would not be easy.

Oh well, at least she wouldn't have to deal with any more crazy midgets tonight.

******************************Monday, August 30th*******************************

Early afternoon sunlight filtered in through the curtains of Teto Kasane's bedroom window. Birds could be heard singing outside, their tranquil melodies filling the air with the promise of another glorious end-of-summer day. But for Teto the weather, glorious or otherwise, was of little concern.

She was supposed to be in school right now. It was the first day of the new school year but she had elected to stay home. Uta had wanted to stay too but Teto had insisted that she go ahead without her. Normally Riko wouldn't have allowed her to just skip like this but given the circumstances…

She sat on her bed, staring at the wall across from her. A long, thin crack ran from the baseboard up to the ceiling and she briefly wondered how it had gotten there. The thought only lasted a moment, however, before flitting out of her head just like all the others. Teto couldn't keep a train of thought today to save her life. There was simply too much to take in at once. She felt like screaming, crying, hiding, and running away all at once but she couldn't decide which one was the correct reaction.

Only one truth managed to stay in place long enough to consider and she'd been pondering it all day. This truth was that in just over 24 hours, her mother would be taken from her; stolen away by a government that didn't care about what Teto felt or what she wanted. Under new laws, her mother was deemed "risky" and "unstable"; neither of which could be further from the truth. How anyone could think that her sweet, caring mom could be in any way dangerous to anyone was beyond Teto.

This one thought had circulated through her mind countless times since she had woken up. She felt that she should do something to save her, but she couldn't muster the energy to get up. A feeling of hopelessness had consumed her, and the inevitability of the situation threatened to crush her under its weight.

What could they possibly do anyways? Run away? They wouldn't get very far with constant military patrols covering the town. And even if they could get away, where would they go? They would be fugitives from the law. If they were ever caught the consequences would be much worse than simply being sent away to some Vocaloid containment facility.

The only thing to do was to make the most of the time they had left, however they could.

Teto got up from her bed and went downstairs to find her mother. If they had to make the most of it, then they would make the most of it. They'd… she didn't know. But they'd do something.

Riko was sitting on the couch in the living room. The television was off as it had been since the announcement and the curtains were open. She stared out the window with a calm expression. For her part, she had taken the news of her impending relocation rather well. It was rather nerve-wracking, of course, but she needed to be strong for Teto.

She was strong. She would survive. She had to survive. The consequences of giving up were too horrible to imagine. She heard her daughter enter the room behind her and started to speak when she felt herself encircled by a pair of thin arms. Teto's cheek pressed against the side of her face, wet with tears.

Suddenly, maintaining a strong outside appearance didn't seem so important… or possible. Riko got up, turned around and hugged her daughter close. Oh God, how was she going to live without her? This girl was her whole world. She was all that mattered to her.

Teto felt the same way. How would she manage without her mother there to guide her? To care for her and tell it was going to be ok when life hurt a little too much? She was a typical teenager and she often acted as if she was being smothered by Riko's affections, but the reality was just the opposite. She loved her mother with all her heart, and the pain of losing her was almost greater than she could bear.

They stayed like that for hours, just holding each other until the tears ran out and there was nothing left to cry. Evening was rapidly approaching by the time they parted and managed to speak.

"I don't want you to go mom!" said Teto, her eyes red and puffy and her voice shaking just a bit. "What am I gonna do without you?"

Riko hiccupped a little. "Shh…" she said, stroking Teto's hair a little, "It'll be alright. You're a tough girl. I know you can handle it. And don't forget that Uta will be here to look after you too."

Of course Uta would be there. Sarah Utane, her mother, had called Riko the instant she heard the announcement and had told her that they would be taking care of Teto. Riko had tried to protest but Sarah would hear nothing about it. Teto would be well cared for, and that was that.

"I know… but Uta's not you!" said Teto. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

Riko hugged her close again. "I'm going to miss you too, Drill Bit. I'm going to miss you more than you can possibly imagine. But you have to be strong. You have to be strong for me."

Teto just squeaked in response. Riko continued. "You're the woman of the house now, you know? You have to take on some new responsibilities." She tried to sound like she was lecturing her and failed spectacularly, her voice threatening to break in the middle of her sentence.

She held Teto out at arm's length, taking in her daughter's appearance. It hadn't occurred to her lately just how fast Teto was growing up. She was not the same little girl she remembered. She was on her way to becoming a lovely young woman. Riko lamented the fact that she hadn't noticed sooner.

"You're such a beautiful girl" she said, fussing with Teto's hair again, "Pretty soon you're going to have all the boys after you."

Riko giggled a bit. Teto tried to make some sort of protest or say that she was being embarrassed but she didn't have the heart. Instead she just shook her head and smiled.

"I love you, mom" said Teto, not knowing what else to say to express what she was feeling at the moment. Words seemed insufficient.

Riko smiled. "I love you too, Teto. I…"

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. It was more of a pounding, really. Both Teto and her mother froze. They looked at the calendar. Surely they hadn't mistaken the day? No, there it was, Monday the 30th. The move wasn't scheduled until tomorrow.

But the next knock at the door made them reconsider.

"Riko Kasane! Under Section 1, Part C of the Vocaloid Relocation act you are hereby ordered to surrender yourself into the custody of the national armed forces for immediate relocation to an appropriate facility until such time as a solution to the current crisis is found. Resistance will not be tolerated. This is your only warning. Do you understand the conditions as stated?"

Riko was speechless. Her mind couldn't process what was happening here. She hadn't had any time to prepare for this. She had thought the relocation was tomorrow, why was the military here now?

The voice sounded again. "I repeat: you are to surrender yourself to our custody immediately! If you do not comply, appropriate force will be used! I will not repeat myself a third time!"

"I… wha… I don't…" sputtered Riko, the color draining from her face. She wasn't ready for this! This was insane! How could they just suddenly come to take her? It wasn't…

Then the door crashed open and her world was turned upside down.

*******************************End of Chapter***********************************

Oh.

My.

God.

It's finally done. After two months it's finally done! I am so tired! Ok, so you're all probably wondering where all the insanity I promised is. Well, I have some news regarding that. I posted this in my profile a while back but basically what happened is that as I was writing this chapter I realized that there was a ton of crap that needed to happen and it just wasn't feasible to put it all into one chapter unless I wanted it to be 60+ pages long. So this is part one. Part two will continue right where we left off.

Rest assured, you won't be disappointed. Part two is a jumping off point. It will be nothing but action scenes and a lot of important plot development as it sets the stage for the second major arc of the story.

So… let's chapter review! Miku has improved quite a bit at this point. She's still nowhere near Luka's level but it's about time to have her in an actual fight scene. I won't give anything away but I will tell you that it's coming up in chapter 12. The next chapter, 11, will focus primarily on Gumi and Teto's points of view since the most stuff is happening on their ends.

Gumi has got her hands full with her preparations and it's about time to put them to the test. At least she knows the net launcher works! All that's left is to wait for the inevitable relocation. Well, that and pray that she can actually pull this off.

Teto is having the worst time of it, being completely unaccustomed to any strife greater than Yumi's occasional bullying. She now has to deal with her mother being taken from her. But with all the things that have been happening to her lately, could there be something else going on as well?

The announcement that Vocaloids are being relocated did not come without opposition. The nation is in turmoil and tensions on all sides of the issue are threatening to boil over. What will happen when the hammer finally comes down? Only time will tell.

And what of Miku's ever elusive "purpose". Will she ever find that one thing that drives her above all else? One thing is for sure, it's not coming easy!

All these questions and more will be answered in the next update!

Alright, time for the music section. There're three songs this time around. Here they are:

"Akatsuki Arrival" – This is the song I used for ALL of the Luka/Miku scenes in this chapter. It's about rivals and I thought that it was appropriate since Miku is aiming to match Luka in skill someday. And before you ask no, it doesn't have anything to do with Naruto's Akatsuki.

Link to Original Video: .jp/watch/sm17064620

Link to Subbed Youtube video: watch?v=_-Q_o52GKzI&list=PL247310A1981A5A9E&index=136&feature=plpp_video

"Green Straight" – Ok, this is Gumi's theme for this story. It just fits the image of her that I have so well. It's about changing yourself for the better, and that's what Gumi is trying to do in Vocal Vision. I can't really describe it, but if you listen to the song and read the lyrics I think you'll see what I mean.

Link to Subbed Youtube video: watch?v=tv35z_8ZRNg

"Lilium" – Ok, so I know that this is the opening to Elfen Lied, but Teto's singing it and it's just so sad sounding and… I don't know. When I heard this cover it just screamed "inner pain and emotional dilemma" to me and that's kind of what I was going for here. You have to admit, Teto's voice has a sort of hypnotic quality in this song.

Link to Original Video: .jp/watch/sm8673630

Link to Subbed(in Latin) Youtube video: watch?v=OWtx3Z7Q0pg&feature=BFa&list=PL247310A1981A5A9E

There they are! I have a particular liking for 'Green Straight' and you can expect to see it in the music list again in the future since it just sums Gumi up so well for me. As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

That brings us to the end of the end of the chapter! I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed Vocal Vision thus far and will continue to do so in the future. Oh yeah, one more thing… You should totally go submit a review for this chapter. Or any other chapter really! I'm not picky! Just make sure to review and spread the word!

Ok, that's all for now. As always, check my profile for updates occasionally. I really do put stuff on there, I promise! Also, I'm still looking for a 'content editor' (Ask me what that means) if anyone is interested so send me a message! AnarchySong signing off!


	11. Finding One's Purpose Pt 2

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

The full title of this chapter is "Finding One's Purpose Pt. 2 – The Worst Birthday"

*********************************Chapter 11************************************

Chaos. Complete and utter chaos. This is what the world has become for Teto Kasane.

As the door crashed down everything became yelling and pushing and hands grasping at her. She was dimly aware of the feeling of being moved, but her ability to think clearly had been temporarily disabled.

The suddenness of it all was too much for her. Her brain simply shut down, numb to any incoming stimulus. How could these people be here now? How could they be here at all, really? Never in her wildest dreams (or nightmares, rather) had she ever imagined that something like this could happen.

She briefly wondered where Uta was. Surely her ever-vigilant protector could put a stop to this madness. Surely she could draw some sort of reason out of this unreasonable situation. Uta would just clap her hands or twitch her nose or whatever she did that let her work her magic. But she knew that Uta would just now be getting out of school halfway across town. Sorry Teto. No knight in shining armor this time.

She was jerked back to reality by the sound of her mother's voice; confused, desperate, pleading. This was not the voice of the parent she loved. This was something wretched, something frantic, something terrified out of its wits. Never before had she heard that tone in Riko's voice, and she dearly hoped that she would never hear it again. She snapped out of the stupor consuming her and finally began to assess her situation.

There were four men in their living room. All were wearing full combat gear. Shiny, black rifles gleamed in the hands of two of them, deadly and menacing.

One of the men held her arms behind her back, restraining her. Not that he was really doing anything. Teto hadn't put up much of a fight, disoriented as she had been.

Now, however, the fog of confusion was blown away by the sight of her mother struggling against another of the soldiers while the other two trained their weapons on her. She pleaded with him, trying to pull away.

The soldier was quickly growing annoyed with Riko's resistance and before Teto could speak up, or offer any sort of protest, he raised his hand and viciously slapped her mother across the face.

Teto's next actions were born more out of instinct than rationality.

All at once she began struggling violently against the man holding her. Her sudden outburst took him by surprise and she quickly succeeded in wrestling her arms away from his half-hearted grip. But as she got halfway across the room, she pulled up short.

A familiar sensation welled up inside of her. It was the same thing that had happened at the pool with Uta, only it felt to Teto like it was a thousand times worse. She didn't believe it was possible for her heart to beat harder or faster than it was at that moment. She could practically feel the blood surging through her veins, burning like fire. It was accompanied by that odd, lightheaded sensation that made her feel disconnected from the situation at hand, as if she was looking at it through a pane of glass.

And then something new happened. Teto felt… something… rising up within her. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

Powerful. That was the word. It was a power created by her anger at the man who had the audacity to assault her mother. It was a power created by the fear she felt at the prospect of having her life torn apart. It was a power created by every raw emotion she had ever experienced and a few that she couldn't remember having ever felt before. An immense energy surged inside of her and she found herself unable to control it. She knew that if she tried to contain it, it would tear her apart.

So she let it out.

A massive force struck out at the man who had slapped her mother. It blasted him across the room and smashed him into the wall, causing large cracks to spread out in all directions. He fell to the floor and lay there in a crumpled heap, unconscious.

The other two men's focus was instantly on Teto, but they balked at the sight that awaited them.

Teto stood in the center of the room, breathing heavily. Her face was turned towards the floor. One of her hands was clutching at her chest. The other, held out in front of her as if to steady herself, smoked from the blast she had just released. She raised her head and looked at the soldiers, her eyes glowing a bright pinkish-red. The air around her warped and distorted as enormous amounts of energy sloughed off of her in waves.

The soldiers were deterred only for a moment and quickly regained their composure. The two with the rifles pointed their weapons at her and shouted warnings that Teto couldn't hear. Her ears were full of the sounds. So many sounds. Some were melodies; others were just tones that continuously fluctuated and harmonized with each other. It all blended together in a symphony of chaos that fueled the fountain of energy gushing out of her.

She raised her hand in a placating gesture, trying to communicate that she hadn't meant to do… whatever it was she had done. All she succeeded in doing was inadvertently releasing another blast that caught one of the soldiers in the chest and knocked him backwards into a lamp.

She let out a scared noise, drawing her hands back in close to her body. The man who had been holding her before grabbed her shoulder from behind. She quickly spun to face him.

"Wait, stop! I didn't…" she began, but the mere act of speaking blew the man off his feet and sent him sprawling.

The only remaining soldier had seen enough. He raised his weapon, took aim, and fired.

Teto threw her arms up in a futile defense; hoping to somehow block the stream of hot metal that was about to tear her to ribbons.

The bullets never reached her. The field of energy around her lashed out and swatted them aside where they lodged in the floor or pieces of furniture. Teto was about to try and speak again, to perhaps communicate even some of the confusion she felt, but was stopped by a sound that cut through even the fantastical orchestra in her head.

With a loud screech full of blind fury and rage, Riko Kasane threw herself at the soldier who had dared to turn his gun on her daughter. The fact that she was outmatched in terms of both strength and size meant nothing to her. The only thing that mattered was tearing that man into shreds, and she would do it with her bare hands if need be.

She jumped on the soldier, clawing and biting at any part of him she could reach. He was thrown off by her sheer ferocity; his combat armor the only thing protecting him from Riko's clawing nails and teeth.

Riko drew her arm back and threw a wild punch that caught him in the face. There was an audible crack and blood started to pour from his nose. The man fought back.

He had the clear physical advantage and he easily shoved Riko away. She fell to the floor but was on her feet again in seconds, lunging at the man in front of her. She leapt towards him…

BANG.

A single shot rang out. Riko dropped to the floor.

…

Time stood still for Teto. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She could only watch as her mother crumpled where she stood.

One moment the soldier was there and the next moment he was not, a burst of energy smashing him completely through the wall of the house and into the neighboring yard. He lay where he landed, unmoving.

This was of little concern to Teto, who at the moment couldn't care less whether the soldier was even alive.

A numbness spread through her. No feeling was possible. Emotions were too hard at the moment.

The scene in front of her was too much to handle. There wasn't a logical explanation for what had just transpired. It couldn't be true. The entire scene felt too surreal.

And yet… somehow… it felt familiar as well. As if she'd seen the exact same thing a long time ago but couldn't quite remember it. That couldn't be right. Teto was sure that she'd never…

An image flashed through her mind, sudden, unbidden. Then another. And another. They were all strange, fleeting images. There was a man. A man whom she loved very much, but she didn't know who he was. She had visions of the two of them together. There they were at the park, laughing and playing without a care in the world. A woman walked into her view. Was that… her mother? Why would she be here with this strange man who…

"AH!"

She let out a yelp. An intense pain shot through her skull and she clutched her head. The numbness she had experienced moments before vanished and all of her senses came rushing back at once. But this only served to make the visions sharper and more vivid. She could remember sounds and smells. Things she couldn't actively recall but that felt undeniably familiar.

The image shifted. It was darker now. She felt scared. She had to find that man, whoever he was. She turned a corner and there he was, drawing her into a warm embrace that made her feel safe. She looked up into his eyes, and as his face finally came into focus the pain in her skull redoubled. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she at last recognized him.

Her father.

She fell to her knees, her mind under assault. The pain was almost unbearable. Her hands held the sides of her head and she shook, an intense agony blowing away all but the images that now came in a constant flood.

She screamed as the memories came rushing back.

********************************Nine years earlier*******************************

A young girl shivered in the chilly September winds as she waited for the bus with her parents. She pulled her jacket tighter about herself and leaned on her mother in an attempt to shield herself from the invading air currents.

Fall had come early this year. The summer heat disappeared suddenly to be replaced by cold breezes and frequent rain, the latter of which was mercifully absent on this particular morning.

The girl fidgeted a little. She was nervous. The first day in a new place can be scary; especially the first day of first grade. What if the other kids didn't like her? What if they were mean to her? What if, God forbid, the teacher was a witch? These were all real and valid concerns (particularly the part about the witch).

Noticing her worry, the girl's father knelt down beside her and offered a few words of encouragement. She brightened considerably as he told her about all the fun she was going to have. There would be so many other children there. He was sure, beyond all doubt, that his daughter would be positively drowning in friends by the end of the day.

"Really, Daddy?" she asked, her eyes wide. "Is it really that fun?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die" he replied, ruffling her hair. She giggled a bit but sobered up again instantly as she saw the bus round the corner. Her father looked up as well.

"Well here we are!" he said brightly, still wearing his confident smile. He winked at his daughter.

Both of her parents gave her a hug as the bus drew near. Her father kissed her on the forehead and once again assured her that everything was going to be fine. Her mother fussed over her hair, flattening errant strands and making sure her single drill ponytail was straight.

The bus arrived and her parents ushered her through the weird fold-up door thing that scared her. Doors didn't work like that. It wasn't natural. She looked up at the driver, a kind-looking older woman wearing a bright green windbreaker and managed a half-hearted smile. She turned and looked down the aisle at the rows of seats where many other children were already seated. She found an empty seat and plopped her bag down into it before settling in herself.

As the bus began to move she cast one last glance at her waving parents through the window. Despite what her father had said she still felt incredibly unsure about the whole situation. Her nervousness only grew as she realized again that she didn't know anyone at this school. And of course there was still the matter of whether the school board saw fit to employ practitioners of witchcraft or not.

_This is going to be the worst day ever_ Teto thought to herself.

**********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

_That was the best day ever!_ thought Teto as she sat on the bus ride home. She couldn't recall having ever had more fun in her life. Class time was fun. Recess was fun. And lunch? Fun _and_ delicious. Indeed, she concluded succinctly, school was cool.

It had started out kind of rough, though. She had been afraid at first that none of the other kids would like her. Soon, however, she realized that they were all in the same boat. Like her, most of the other kids there had been nervous in their new surroundings.

It had helped a lot that the teachers were so nice. They were all smiles and did their best to make sure that everyone felt at home. And the best part? None of them were witches! Teto was fairly certain that one of the lunch ladies was an ogre, though. A nice ogre, but an ogre nonetheless.

But nice ogres and the absence of witches aside, Teto was pretty sure that she was going to enjoy her time in school. Her father had been completely right. How had she ever doubted him? She knew he was always right about everything ever. He was her all-knowing grown-up Dad and he loved her enough to tell her the future that morning. If he said that school was going to be fun, then it was going to be fun. She only wondered why he hadn't told her that he could see the future before. It probably had something to do with the laws of superpowers or something.

As the bus pulled up to her stop she saw her parents standing in the same spot and waving just as they had that morning. Even though she knew it wasn't the case, Teto couldn't help but feel like they hadn't moved the entire day. She shook her head to clear it and smiled and waved back at them.

The door opened and she ran off the bus, eager to tell her parents about her super fun first day. She said goodbye to the kindly bus driver as she passed and the woman responded in kind, saying that she'd see her tomorrow.

Teto ran off the bus and straight into the arms of her father, who picked her up and twirled her around before setting her down again. Riko walked up and placed a kiss on the top of Teto's head before crouching down to give her a hug herself.

As the trio walked slowly back to their house, Teto happily swung between the arms of her parents, babbling incessantly about every single detail she could remember from that day. They listened contentedly, occasionally sharing glances between the two of them and laughing at their daughter's antics.

The rest of that evening passed in a blur for Teto. She wasn't really concentrating on anything other than being at school again as soon as possible. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she didn't even put up a fight when it came time for bed. She brushed her teeth, undid her ponydrill, and donned her pajamas before climbing into bed.

She shut her eyes, intending to go straight to sleep but, as it is prone to do when one is excited, sleep proved elusive. Teto's mind was abuzz with far too many thoughts and memories for her to simply fall asleep.

She tossed and turned fruitlessly, unable to get into a comfortable position. There was no way she was going to be able to get any rest like this. She needed something to take her mind off the amazing day she'd had. So she did what she always did when she couldn't sleep…

"DADDY!"

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

"Can you believe it Tetsuo?" asked Riko, an inkling of disbelief in her voice.

"I know, I thought it was impossible" he replied, shaking his head. "She hasn't gone to bed without putting up a fight since… ever. We should have put her in school years ago."

They both dumped themselves unceremoniously onto the living room couch. Each let out a contented sigh as they relaxed. Several seconds of silence passed between them before it was finally broken by Tetsuo.

"Riko?" he asked.

"Yes?" she replied.

"What are we supposed to do now?"

"I don't know. I've forgotten what it's like to have a free evening" said Riko wistfully.

"A free evening… what a beautiful thing" said Tetsuo, wiping some imaginary moisture from his eye. "It's almost enough to bring a man to tears."

Riko rolled her eyes at her husband's joking. However, she couldn't deny the truth of his words. It had been so long since the two of them had had an evening together.

As if reading her mind, Tetsuo scooted closer and placed his hand on Riko's thigh. He slipped his other arm around her shoulders and leaned right up next to her ear. "You know, I might know something we could do…" he said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh really?" she replied. "Do tell."

"Well, for starters we could…" he whispered something in her ear that made her giggle.

"That could be fun" she said, "But what about…" she something of her own. Now it was Tetsuo's turn to chuckle.

"Oh yes, definitely" he replied. "And then maybe…" another whisper. This time Riko's face turned bright red and she hit him on the arm playfully.

"You're terrible" she said, giggling again. Then her eyes narrowed and she gave Tetsuo a sultry look. "But I might consider that… if you can convince me."

"Oh I'll convince you alright" he said, going in for a kiss.

"DADDY!" came Teto's voice from upstairs.

The atmosphere in the room disappeared in an instant as both Riko and Tetsuo sighed in unison, their lips inches away from one another's. It was almost enough to bring tears to their eyes; if for different reasons this time.

"Oh responsibility you are a cruel mistress" groaned Tetsuo. He cast a pleading glance at Riko. "Do I have to?"

"You know she'll just keep doing it until you go in there" she replied. Though he wished it were not the case, Tetsuo knew she was right. Still, he attempted one last futile effort at resistance.

"But what if…" he began.

"DADDY!" Teto's voice called again, ruthlessly crushing her father's hopes and dreams.

Defeated, Tetsuo got up from the couch and shambled towards the stairs. As he reached the base, he paused and cast one last longing glance back at his wife, who gave him a sympathetic look and motioned for him to get on with it. With a heavy heart he began the climb to his daughter's room.

He took a few deep breaths and steadied himself during his ascent, changing from "husband" mode to "daddy" mode.

As he entered Teto's bedroom he noted the familiar decorations, not a few of which he remembered being unable to deny her when she pleaded with those adorable puppy dog eyes. The most noticeable of these decorations was a large, colorful poster depicting her favorite TV super-heroine, the beautiful Princess Moonbeam, who fights evil with the powers of love and truth. Tetsuo had never been a fan himself and thought it was a little silly, though he had never once refused one of Teto's requests for him to play the evil Lord Galactrix so she could vanquish him.

"What's up, Sweetie?" he said, letting his eyes fall on Teto, who had the blankets pulled up to her chin.

"I can't sleep" she replied simply.

"Can't sleep?" he said, feigning surprise. "Well whatever for?"

"I'm too excited" Teto said.

"About school, right?" asked Tetsuo, already knowing the answer. She nodded. "Well maybe if you talk about it it'll help motivate you to go to sleep."

Teto had no problem recounting the events of the day; and even though Tetsuo had heard nothing but these same things since they had picked her up that afternoon, he was more than happy to sit there and listen, making all the appropriate 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' and acting like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Not that he wasn't genuinely interested. Tetsuo loved his daughter, and he could easily sit and listen to her talk for hours on end. He was feeling especially proud of Teto today. The first day of "big kid school", as she called it, was an important occasion.

It was, in what was quickly becoming a theme that evening, almost enough to bring a tear to his eye. His little girl was growing up fast. Where did the time go? It seemed like just yesterday that they brought her home from the hospital, even though he knew very well that over 6 years had passed. Why was it that the happy times were always the ones that seemed to be over the quickest?

But regardless of how fast it went Tetsuo wouldn't have given it up for anything. And so he sat patiently and listened attentively as Teto told him all about the really nice girl that sat next to her in class and how the teachers were so much fun to listen to because they must know everything and how she was almost 100% sure that there was a troll working in the lunch room. She talked and talked, filled with a seemingly endless stream of things to gush about.

It was doing its job, though. Tetsuo could see that Teto was finally getting tired. At last she let out a huge yawn just as she was describing a particularly interesting educational poster in her classroom.

"Well, look at that" said Tetsuo, smiling. "Looks like someone talked all the energy right out of themselves."

Teto's original goal had been to make herself tired so she could sleep, but now that she had gotten into her stride talking about school, she didn't want to stop. She tried to look defiant as she said "Nuh-uh. I'm not tired." This failed spectacularly as she yawned again.

"Nope. Can't fool me. I can see it" said Tetsuo. "Time for sleep."

Teto's eyes widened as she remembered her earlier revelation. Of course he could see it. He could see the future. Or at least Teto was almost 100% sure that he could. But she wanted to know for sure.

Tetsuo kissed her on the forehead and made to get up but paused when he felt a small hand grab his sleeve. He turned around to see Teto looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Daddy… you can see the future, can't you?" she said, her tone completely serious.

He looked puzzled. "No. Of course not. What gave you that idea?"

Teto was unfazed. She frowned. "You don't have to hide it from me. I promise I won't tell anyone. Not even mom!"

Her eyes were big, almost pleading. He just sighed and pulled his sleeve out of her grip. Rising from the bed, he strode across the room to the door. Teto looked crestfallen. However, as Tetsuo reached the door he paused. He made a show of checking the hallway for anyone who might be listening. Turning around he looked directly at her and raised a finger to his lips.

"Shhh…."

He winked at her and slipped around the corner.

Teto just sat there with her mouth hanging open. Then she broke out into a huge grin.

"I knew it!" she said under her breath.

Tetsuo chuckled softly to himself as he walked back down the stairs. He never tired of seeing that beautiful smile on his daughter's face. But as he changed back into "husband" mode once again he couldn't help but imagine another smile that never got old. The smile of a certain Riko Kasane, who, he noted with relish, was still seated on the couch where she'd been before.

He snuck down the last few steps as quietly as possible and crept silently up behind her. All at once her grabbed her from behind and spun her around. She almost screamed but her voice was quickly muffled by a passionate kiss. Breaking away, Tetsuo flashed a roguish grin.

"Now… where were we?"

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Teto awoke with a start. Her room was dark save for the dim light being cast by her night light, which was for practical purposes and definitely not because she was afraid of the dark. She woke in such a fashion due to a loud bump she had heard moments before from elsewhere in the house.

Now, as any small child knows, bumps in the night can only have one possible source: monsters. It's the only logical explanation. However, as any small child also knows, monsters cannot penetrate the covers of a bed. Teto threw her covers over her head and hid, confident that there were no monsters in existence that could reach her now.

After several minutes of this she figured it was safe to take another look above ground and make sure the coast was clear. She lowered her quilt just far enough to peek over the edge. Predictably, there were no monsters in her bedroom and no signs of them lurking in the darkness beyond her doorway.

She scolded herself a little. She was a big girl now. Big girls weren't afraid of monsters. Big girls knew that monsters weren't even real. That bump probably hadn't even been a bump at all. It was probably just a figment of her…

*Thump*

Teto froze. Monsters or no, she had definitely heard something that time. In her six year old mind, this situation had just gotten very real. What could it be? There was plethora of possibilities, most of which were almost too terrifying to think about. What if…

Wait. Stop. Big girl time now. She wasn't the only one in the house. That noise was probably one of her parents shuffling around doing… whatever it was parents did in the middle of the night. Teto wasn't sure.

*CRASH*

Ok, unless her parents were wrecking up their own house, something was definitely wrong. She could hear muffled voices coming from downstairs, angry and frightened.

Teto was more scared now than she had ever been in her life. There was obviously something… exciting… going on downstairs. Whatever it was, she didn't really want to find out. She once again threw the covers over her head and hid.

But… how could she do this? Wasn't she supposed to be a big girl? What would a big girl do in this situation? Would she hide under the covers like a baby? No. She would go downstairs and make sure her parents were ok. She wouldn't be a coward. Big girls were brave!

Before her thoughts could scare her back under the covers again Teto leapt out of bed and ran to the top of the stairs. Here she paused. The voices were clearer now, but she still couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

Tentatively, and ever so slowly, she tiptoed down the steps. She could see the arched entryway into the living room, where the voices were coming from. The only illumination was provided by the moon (mostly full tonight) shining in through the large front window and bathing the room in that strange, ethereal glow that only moonlight can provide.

As the scene before her came into focus she stopped short and her blood ran cold. Even being as young as she was, Teto knew what a gun was. So it was with a great deal of fear that she registered the masked man currently holding her parents at gunpoint.

"Please, just take anything you want and leave" she heard her mother say, her voice shaking slightly. Riko was huddled behind Tetsuo, who held his arms out protectively.

The man with the gun seemed a bit nervous. He would make like he was about to lower the weapon but then would only reinforce his grip. He was hesitant, like he had expected to accomplish his intended theft without any of the house's occupants waking up. Riko's words seemed to shake him out of his internal debate.

"Shut up! Just… just get over there in the corner and don't move" said the man, clearly not sure on how to progress.

"Daddy?" said Teto, hesitantly.

*BANG*

The man reacted on reflex. Hearing Teto's voice he swung around and fired in that general direction. The bullet lodged in the plaster less than a foot to Teto's right. She screamed and flattened herself against the wall.

Now, Tetsuo Kasane was not a violent man. He would always prefer to talk a problem out rather than solve it through fighting. But he'd be damned if was going to let anyone get away with firing a weapon as his little angel.

And so it was that in one fluid motion and with all the strength he could muster that Tetsuo leapt from where he was and smashed his fist squarely into the jaw of the intruder. The man stumbled sideways into the wall and the gun fell to the floor. Tetsuo was on him in an instant, pummeling away at any part of him he could reach. The man kicked Tetsuo in the gut and he fell backwards with a grunt. He leapt onto him and they grappled across the floor of the room.

Riko jumped up from her spot near the edge of the sofa and ran to Teto. For her part Teto was still plastered to the wall, frozen by fear. However, she quickly clung to her mother when Riko embraced her. The two of them watched in horror, unable to tear their eyes away as the fighting continued.

The two men punched, kicked, and bit at each other, growling like animals. All at once, Tetsuo saw an opening and landed a hit dead center of the man's face. He scrambled to his feet and stomped on the man's diaphragm. The intruder doubled over in pain, trying to clutch at both his face and his stomach simultaneously.

Tetsuo looked up towards where Riko was shielding Teto at the base of the stairs. He grinned slightly, one of his eyes nearly swollen shut and bleeding lightly from a cut across the bridge of his nose.

"Riko, call the police. I-" he began.

*BANG*

That awful sound again. Teto had only heard it twice now and she already knew that it was probably her least favorite sound in the entire world.

The man on the ground had ended up inches away from the dropped firearm and had taken the chance presented to him. His smug smile quickly faded, however, as the full extent of what he had just done washed over him. The gun clattered to the floor once again.

Tetsuo looked surprised, more than anything. He stared down at the red spot blossoming over his heart, the blood quickly soaking through his shirt. A soft "oh!" was all the sound that escaped his lips before he collapsed.

Riko screamed. A horrible, piercing sound. Somewhere in the far back of her mind, Teto thought that everyone on their block would hear it, but she wasn't really registering anything besides the soft *thump* of her father's body hitting the carpeted floor. It was something a six year old girl shouldn't see. Something that _no one_ should see, really. But there it was.

The man on the floor scrambled to his feet and turned towards the front door. Before he could take two steps, however, an enormous tremor rocked the entire house and knocked him off his feet again.

Teto's eyes glowed brightly, her mouth open in a silent scream. There was a large crack reaching up towards the ceiling in the wall behind her and several steps had buckled under the force of the shockwave. Strangely enough, Riko, who was inches from her, remained untouched. Her face didn't seem to be able to display her thoughts. There were simply too many to sift through.

Teto's fiery gaze fell upon the man on the living room floor, rapidly moving back and forth from him to her father's motionless body. He opened his mouth to speak…

But he never got the chance.

As though he was being grabbed by an invisible hand, the man was lifted off the floor and brought within inches of Teto's face. Her eyes, the pupils lost in the bright glow of energy, stared straight into the man's. Then her face contorted into an expression of pure rage. The man attempted to scream but was immediately silenced as he was flung bodily against the ceiling.

Before he hit the ground he was again grasped by that invisible force and it carried him the rest of the way, bashing him again and again into the hardwood of the main hallway.

Teto's wrath only increased the longer she pulverized the man. One look at her face would tell that her actions were no longer her own. Her rational mind was lost beneath the broiling sea of emotions, and amidst the cacophony of sound filling her ears.

Higher and higher her vocal energy built upon itself until finally she felt as if she would burst. She released her grip on the (by now unconscious) man and he fell to the floor in a heap. Riko could only watch as Teto's small hands clutched the sides of her head and she screamed. The air around her began to ripple as the power increased and the house began to shake.

Then everything went white.

*********************************Present Day***********************************

Teto nearly collapsed as the images finally ceased tormenting her. How could she have forgotten? The tragic death of her father, the police investigation that eventually wrote the whole thing off as a gas explosion, the pain in her mother's eyes at his funeral…

She'd known that her father had died. It hadn't been a secret to her. But for some reason she hadn't ever recalled the events, no, _couldn't_ recall them. It was as if she had blocked out that entire night as well as the weeks that followed.

But they were blocked out no longer and her tears flowed freely. And though she cried her hardest, the immense power flowing through her vaporized them the instant they left her eyes.

It was too much for her. How could this possibly happen again? She had lost her father nine years earlier and now her mother was destined to die as well? It wasn't fair!

She looked around at the unconscious forms of the soldiers and at her mother's body and her anger flared anew. But this time there was something else present: despair. Where the anger felt like fire, hot, burning, almost searing her flesh, this sadness was quite cool, but it pushed forward with a driving force that would not be ignored.

The two emotions mingled and coalesced as the sounds grew somehow even wilder, if that was possible. She felt that pressure inside of her again. Building…

Now she knew what was coming. She knew that soon the power would overwhelm her and the dam would break. She couldn't contain it for long. Briefly she wondered how long it would be before reinforcements arrived. Surely the gunfire and the sound of bodies crashing into things had alerted others. As if on cue she heard the telltale shouts and rapid footfalls of additional men approaching (How she managed to pick that noise out over the sound of her powers she had no idea).

But what could she do? Where could she go? Even if she'd had time she had no plan. There _wasn't_ anything to do. There _wasn't_ anywhere she could go.

She crawled over to her mother's body and her sobs redoubled as she saw her motionless form. She brushed a bit of Riko's hair out of her face as she gazed down at her. The power surged uncontrollably. She threw her head back, her mouth opened wide but no sound came out. Her eyes were twin globes of fire as she stared into nothing. The energy pulsed outward one more time…

And then the house exploded.

The noise was deafening. The shockwave could be felt miles away. Debris and shrapnel were blown in every direction. Wood splintered, glass shattered, and bits and pieces of furniture were launched hundreds of feet into the afternoon sky.

The soldiers approaching the house were blasted off their feet as violent tremors rocked the ground. The rumbling lasted for what seemed like an eternity, and debris continued to fall from above for what seemed like an eternity more.

When the dust had finally settled, all that remained of the Kasane household was the foundation; the baseboards charred and blackened and the few supports that remained broken and buckled.

And in the middle of it all lay the forms of a mother and daughter. The latter slumped on top of the former. As smoke billowed up around them and the wail of sirens could be heard in the distance, Teto's unconscious form lay still, her powers having finally exhausted themselves.

In the street, a badly burnt teddy bear sat smoldering, staring impassively at the wreckage before it.

In the end, she'd finally moved it. "Congratulations, Teto" it seemed to say. "Looks like you're special after all."

*****************************Tuesday, August 31st********************************

Gumi Megpoid was… do I even need to say it? Worried.

But then again, why wouldn't she be? This was only the day where she would attempt to outwit and incapacitate highly trained and, might she add, _heavily armed_ members of the military. There was every reason for her to be worried out of her mind, and being the kind of person she was, probably even a little more worried than that.

She had been in constant correspondence with Miku (and Luka) since she had woken up that morning. By now she could recite the plan verbatim. Step one: lure the soldier(s) upstairs. Step two: get the better of him/her/them with the net launcher and the door locks. Step Three: escape the house and hide till nightfall. Step four: get out of town and travel to Sesame Town, where she would meet up with Miku and Luka. It would be pretty straightforward after that.

Yeah, sure… like her life was ever going to be straightforward ever again. There was no future that she could foresee that involved her life being normal. The way she saw it there were two possibilities. One, successfully escape, meet up with Miku, and spend the rest of her days on the run from the government or two, get captured by the military and spend the rest of her days locked up in a Vocaloid internment camp. And while neither option sounded particularly appealing to her, she had to admit that being on the run with her best friend was a lot better than rotting away in a cell somewhere.

But in order for that "dream" to become a reality there were things that had to happen first. Important things. Dangerous Things. So for the umpteenth time that day Gumi went through her checklist.

First and most important was her bag. It held a few essentials that she would need for the trip. She couldn't take anything bulky with her since she had to travel light, but she figured a few tools might come in handy. She slung the strap over her shoulder and looked around her room.

Net launcher? Check. Magnetic door locks? Check. Recorded voice clips to fool the soldiers? Check.

…Wow, there was just no way to make "recorded voice clips to fool soldiers" sound sane. Even with context it still sounded impossibly strange. Well, whatever; performance and practicality over style. If it worked, then it could sound as weird as it wanted to.

Night vision goggles and her scooter? Well, the goggles never left her head and the scooter… She mentally traced her route down through the house and out the back door to where it would be waiting for her. Check and check.

Next was her phone. Well, the thing that resembled a phone but could only call Miku. It was more of a glorified walkie-talkie, really. Like her goggles, it hadn't left her person since she woke up. It was currently residing in a makeshift harness on her hip, where it would be easily accessible. Check.

Last on the list was… oh… _that._ She wasn't particularly fond of this item. It clashed with her personality (not to mention her wardrobe). The only reason she'd made it in the first place was because Miku wouldn't shut up until she'd agreed to take some form of weaponized protection with her.

So it was with a sigh that she opened a drawer at the top of her desk to reveal a plain, black glove. There was nothing remarkable about the glove itself, it's only identifying features being a tiny metal spike affixed between the second and third knuckle of each finger. They were all very sharp and could easily puncture someone's skin if applied with enough force.

The glove wasn't actually anything special. Gumi hadn't made it. It was leftover from one of Miku's old Halloween costumes. The single modification she _had_ made to it was a simple one, but an effective one nonetheless. A wire was connected to each of the small spikes and ran back along the inside of the stitching until they connected at the wrist. It then extended from the cuff and ended in a copper connector.

Alone the glove was useless, but when paired with the other item in the drawer it became a device that Miku had affectionately dubbed "the concession", due to it being the only concession Gumi was willing to make in the way of armaments.

The item in question was nothing more than a small black box with a small button and a receptor for the glove's wire. But this wasn't just any box…

It was a stun gun. It was something a police officer uses to take down criminals. And Gumi was absolutely terrified of it. It was capable of putting out 50,000 volts; easily enough to kill a person if applied incorrectly.

By all rights she shouldn't even have it. It was just another one of those things she'd picked up over the years but hadn't ever used. It had sat in her closet (hidden deep in a shoebox where her parents wouldn't find out about it) for a long time until now.

She'd made a few minor modifications to it over the last several days. It was a simple matter, wiring the device to pump its electricity into the glove. All she'd had to do was redirect a few things, hook up a connector, run some wires and it was finished. Simple, effective, dangerous…

Scary.

So basically she would be walking around wearing the equivalent of a TASER on her right arm. Of course it was only for use under extreme circumstances. She would do everything in her power to ensure that it never became necessary. If all went as planned, there wouldn't be any need for it and she could throw it away when she met up with Miku and Luka.

Dangerous weapon that would be the source of her nightmares for weeks? Check. She put the glove on and strapped the box to her arm. It was close enough to game time at this point that it didn't really matter if her parents found out or not, considering they would know anyways in about… she checked the clock… 5, maybe 10 minutes. It was 1:55 PM and the move for her neighborhood was scheduled for 2. Taking into account the fact that soldiers probably wouldn't just come breaking her door down at exactly that time, she still had a few minutes to prepare.

She looked around her room. _But then again…_ she thought, _there isn't really any more preparation to be done…_

Gumi sat down on her bed as the full realization of what she was about to do washed over her. It was a bit overwhelming when you took it all in at once. She knew her life was going to change, and drastically at that, but there were so many other things she'd have to adjust to.

For one, she'd have to get accustomed to living somewhere other than her house. It was the only place she'd ever lived, and while she had never really appreciated it before, she knew that she was going to miss it after she left.

Another thing was the complete lifestyle change. It had been easier for Miku. She had never had any solid plan or routine… or one place to live… so it was a lot easier for her to just change on a whim. Gumi recalled how quickly Miku had started calling Luka's guest bedroom "hers" so soon after she'd arrived.

It wouldn't be so easy for her. There would be a lot of adjusting to do, living in the middle of a forest. At least they had electricity… and television and internet somehow… Gumi was really curious as to how that was even possible. She'd have to ask Luka when they met up.

Yes, adapting to her new surrounding would be difficult indeed, but what Gumi was going to dread even more was the loss of her desk. That simple structure of wood and metal that had been the location where she had spent so many hours of her life was going to be hard to let go of. Not to mention all of her electronics and projects. She'd have to start from scratch; and while she wasn't worried that she wouldn't be able to reproduce any of her current endeavors, it was still a lot of work gone to waste.

But the worst of it was what this was going to do to her parents. They would be so confused by the whole thing. She hadn't had the heart to tell them of her plans in advance. They'd been worried sick ever since the quarantines went into effect and now this? Gumi felt incredibly guilty about keeping them out of the loop, but it had to be done. If they had known what she was planning they could be arrested for aiding a fugitive. In the end, it was for the best.

She sighed. This waiting was getting tedious. She checked the clock again. 2:06 PM. Where were they? Seriously, it was actually starting to get boring-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Ok, not boring! Not boring! Oh God, was this really it? Was it finally happening? Maybe it was just…

"Gumi Megpoid! Under Section 1, Part C of the Vocaloid Relocation act you are hereby ordered to surrender yourself into the custody of the national armed forces for immediate relocation to an appropriate facility. Resistance of any kind will not be tolerated. Do you understand the conditions as stated?"

Ok, no. It was definitely go time. Gumi started to panic. She wasn't ready! She needed more time! She needed…

_You need to calm the hell down is what you need to do!_ said a little voice in her head. She took a deep breath. This is what she had planned for. It was time to see if her crazy schemes would actually pay off after all.

_Alright, step one…_ She dashed out of her bedroom to the railing on the upstairs balcony that overlooked the front door. As she passed through the doorframe she reached into her pocket and clicked the switch on her remote to activate the motion sensors. Then, before she could think about it anymore, she took a deep breath…

"You'll never take me alive!" she shouted as loud as she could. "If you want me you'll have to come and get me!"

To say the least, her statements had the intended effect. The door was suddenly kicked inward as two (oh great, two) soldiers entered the house, guns raised. Ok. That was fine. She'd planned ahead in case there were two. That's what the magnets were for. She would just…

And that's when things started to go very, very, wrong.

Startled first by the knocks on the door, and then by Gumi's yelling and the door being broken down, her parents entered the room and immediately had one of the men's guns trained on the both of them.

This wasn't in the plan. Oh God how had she overlooked this? Of course her parents would be a factor here! What should she do? At this point there wasn't a lot she _could_ do. Unable to think of anything else, she hit the button to play the first voice recording.

"Come on! I haven't got all day! Come and get me if you're brave enough!"

She groaned inwardly. That had sounded a lot more intimidating when she'd listened back to it by herself. At least it did its job… mostly. The soldier pointing his gun at her parents motioned to the second man who nodded and began to ascend the stairs.

No no NO! She needed _both_ of them to be upstairs. How was she supposed to get out if there was still one soldier blocking her escape route? She retreated back down the hallway a bit and hid around the corner. Closing her eyes, she hit the button for the second recording.

"Seriously! You're slower than dirt! Hurry and get up here so I can pound ya'!"

Gumi facepalmed. Why had she thought it was a good idea to take suggestions from Miku?

The soldier reached the top of the stairs. His feet moved soundlessly across the carpeted surface of the hallway towards the door of her room. She could feel her pulse pounding in anticipation. This was the moment of truth. Just a few more steps. Just a couple more…

WHUMP

The net launcher made a noise like a mortar as it discharged. Gumi heard the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. Holy crap, had it actually worked? She sprung up from her hiding spot and ran to the doorway. Sure enough, there was the soldier, struggling to free himself from the entangling metal fibers. _Good luck with that_ thought Gumi, _Took me forever to get out of it…_

SNAP

Gumi stared in horror as things proceeded to go even more wrong than before. She had thought… she had been _sure_ that those patched sections would hold. This was bad. This was _very _bad. Apparently she had made a slight error in judgment when comparing her own strength to that of a man three times her size. She hadn't been strong enough to break the net in the places she'd repaired it. Unfortunately, this soldier didn't seem to be bound by the same restriction. He quickly began extricating himself from the broken net.

There was no time to think. She did the one thing she could do. She quickly reached forward and grabbed the door knob, pulling the door shut before the soldier could free himself completely. Reaching into her pocket once again, she flipped the switch to engage the magnets.

They came on not a moment too soon. From the other side of the door she could hear the man trying to force it open. Fortunately, the magnets held firm. But now Gumi had another problem.

Turning around, she looked back down into entryway of the house, where the other soldier had sensed that something was awry. He looked over his shoulder at the sound of the net launcher and put his sights on Gumi when he saw her slam the door shut.

"Freeze! Don't move! Arms above your head. NOW!" shouted the soldier in an authoritative voice.

She froze. This was it. Game over. She was caught. Gumi had many useful talents, but avoiding bullets was not one of them. She slowly raised her arms above her head as the soldier started to speak into his radio, never taking his eyes off of her.

"This is Tango Zero-Zero-One requesting backup. I am currently in position One-Zero-Alpha-Foxtrot. Repeat, this is Tango Zer-

And that's all he got out before he was shoulder-tackled by Gumi's father. His gun and radio clattered to the floor, but he immediately started to regain his footing. He only got about halfway back up, however, before a porcelain lamp was smashed forcefully over his head by her mother. The soldier immediately fell to the floor unconscious.

Gumi stood in the upstairs hallway, her jaw hanging open in shock, her arms still raised halfway above her head. But she didn't get long to stay surprised.

"What are you waiting for?" said her father with a note of urgency in his voice. "That backup he requested will be here any second! GO!"

"I… I don't… wha?" said Gumi, completely unable to process what had just happened.

"Gumi Megpoid, get down here this instant!" yelled her mother, her eyes wide and her tone leaving no room for argument.

Still in a daze, Gumi descended the stairs to stand in front of her parents. "But… how did you…?" she started, but she was unable to properly articulate.

"You think I didn't notice those ball bearings missing from the garage?" said her father, with the ghost of a smile. "And really? A telescope? What kind of telescope gets bolted to the wall and isn't near a window?"

"You guys… knew?" she asked in disbelief. "All this time… you knew?"

"Sweetie, we're your parents. It's our job to know when you're up to something" said her mother.

"But you two just… just…" she gestured wildly towards the unconscious soldier on the floor. "You'll be arrested!"

"Baby girl, you're a genius. I would have thought that much would be obvious" said her father. "That was kind of the point, after all. It'll give you enough time to get away and meet Miku."

Gumi was horrified. "No!" she yelled. "Why would you do that!? My whole plan was to leave you out of it! And how do you even know that I'm meeting her!?"

"You should learn to speak more quietly when you're on the phone, dear" said her mother.

"But… I can't let you-" Gumi started.

"It's not your decision, Sweetheart" her mother stated simply. "It's our job to protect you, not the other way around." She smiled at her daughter. "You're running out of time. Now go."

Gumi had tears in her eyes as she looked helplessly at her parents. But it was without a trace of fear or regret in their eyes that they looked back at her. Gumi lunged forward and grabbed both of them in a tight embrace, a few tears on her cheeks. They returned the gesture briefly before her father pushed her away forcibly.

"Don't worry about us" he said, his own eyes showing signs of tears. "Your scooter is outside waiting. Take Union Street down to Junction and follow it out of town. That's where there'll be the smallest number of soldiers.

Gumi didn't pause to question how her father knew this, but instead ran to the back door. Before she stepped through, though, she turned around and fixed her parents with a determined look. "I'll find you. I'll get you out. I promise. Miku and I are going to put a stop to whatever is going on in this country." She couldn't believe what she was saying. When did _that_ become the plan? Still, she said it without a hint of falsehood and she knew instantly that she would do whatever it took to make it come true. Giving them one final nod she turned and left.

Her parents let out a sigh. It was up to her now. But they had faith in their daughter. If there was anyone that could do it, it was Gumi. She is, as both were well aware, a very smart cookie.

They looked at each other and knew that everything was going to work out, somehow. Even as more soldiers entered the house and forced them both to the ground they didn't break their gaze. At that moment they shared an unspoken sentiment between the two of them. That gaze carried everything they cared about. All their love for their daughter, and all their love for each other. But most importantly it carried the one thing that would let them carry on through what was to come: hope.

********************************Vocal Vision************************************

Worried? What's all this crap about being worried? Miku was pumped! That's why she was incessantly pacing the floor of her bedroom, and why her heart was beating fit to burst, because she was ready for action. Yeah, that was it. No nervousness here, no sir. She was completely, totally, one hundred percent ready for what was coming. She was excited, not worried. Please, don't get the two confused.

Miku slumped. Oh who was she kidding? She was a nervous wreck. Gumi was about to risk her life escaping from the army and here she was, far away and unable to do anything but watch. Wait, scratch that, she couldn't even watch, only listen… periodically… on a piece of crap walkie-talkie with terrible reception.

At least she'd have something to distract her soon enough. Her bags had been packed for days now and she and Luka were ready to leave at a moment's notice. They were to set out the moment they knew that Gumi had gotten out of town.

She checked the clock again compulsively. 2:27 PM. Two minutes had elapsed since the last time she'd looked. Ugh! Why did it have to take so long? She could handle the doing; it was the waiting that killed her!

She'd called Gumi no less than 8 times that day already. She probably would have called again, too, had Gumi not flat out told her to stop. The plan was that she would contact Miku once she managed to get out of her house as a check-in and then again after she'd left town completely.

This was too much. She couldn't just sit here and wait. She had to do something or she'd explode. Striding over to her door she walked purposely through it with every intention of going downstairs and doing something to take her mind off the situation at hand…

…And was back on her bed clutching the makeshift phone within seconds. No use. She couldn't do it. She was just too worked up over what was about to happen.

A few less-than-optimistic thoughts pushed themselves into her head. Gumi should have called by now, shouldn't she? It had been nearly half an hour since the extraction of Gumi's neighborhood had begun. Why was it taking her so long for her to call? Surely she'd had enough time to do what she needed to by now, right? Honestly, how hard could it be to take care of a couple of soldiers?

She took a few calming breaths, attempting to get her nerves back under control. Maybe Gumi was just being cautious. This was a dynamic plan, after all. It was subject to change at any time in order to meet the changing demands of the situation. Maybe she'd had to lay low for a while and let things cool down. Yeah. That sounded logical. She was probably just… being careful.

But then again…

Maybe she'd never gotten out of her house at all. What if the plan had just… failed? Maybe the net launcher had jammed or something? Maybe there were too many soldiers for her to handle. If that was the case, then right now Gumi might be on her way to some awful, cold, dirty… _prison_! Or maybe her resistance had been met with more… forceful means? She could be injured or worse! She could be dea…

RING RING RING RING!

The phone on the bed in front of her began to make the horrible clanging wail that passed for its ring. Miku lunged at it and fumbled with it for a moment before mashing the green button and shouting into the receiver.

"GUMI! Gumi! What's going on!? What happened? Where are you?" she said in a rush.

The voice that replied to her sounded winded, but ok otherwise.

"Calm down!" said Gumi from the other end. "I'm fine. Listen, I had a bit of a… problem… getting away from the soldiers. It's nothing I can't handle, but waiting until nighttime isn't really an option anymore. There are patrols everywhere and I don't think I can wait in one spot for long enough. I need to get out of here, fast. Any ideas?"

The urgency in Gumi's voice snapped Miku out of her panic. "Wait, problem? What do you mean 'problem'?" asked Miku. "What kind of problem are we talking about here?"

"I don't have time to explain right now" she replied, her voice hurried. "Time is of the essence. They've got everyone looking for me and if I don't leave now I'm going to run out of options pretty quickly."

Miku was amazed by the change in her friend's normally passive demeanor. Gumi sounded tired, stressed, and agitated, but for all of that Miku couldn't detect a hint of nervousness in her tone. She briefly wondered if this could possibly be the same girl she'd spoken to that morning.

"Hello? Miku? Are you there?" came Gumi's voice again. "I really need some advice here and… God, am I asking you for advice _again_? This is the weirdest day I think I've ever had."

"Yeah, sorry, sorry. I'm here" said Miku focusing back in on the task at hand. "Ok, where are you right now? How close are you to a way out?"

"I'm within fifty yards of that gas station that's right at the edge of town. You know, the place where that creepy guy with one eye works? Well, they have the street barricaded and I can't get through."

"Barricaded? How many soldiers are guarding it?"

Gumi chanced a quick glance around the edge of the fence she was hiding behind. The road was blocked by concrete slabs and several men with guns patrolling back and forth. She counted quickly before ducking out of sight again.

"I can see three, but there are probably more" she said.

"Hmmm…" came Miku's reply. "Yeah. No way are you getting through there. Maybe you could circle… no, that won't work. Or you could… nah, that won't work either. Give me a second."

Gumi passed a few tense moments waiting for Miku's response. If this was her idea of helping then she seriously needed to rethink a few things. She was about to speak up again when Miku finally said something.

"I've got it!" she said triumphantly. "Remember that back alley on the other side of the gas station? Think they've got that blocked too?" Gumi could practically hear her grinning.

She realized Miku was probably right. Looking at it logically, there was a relatively low chance that they would have spared a man that was most likely needed elsewhere to guard such a small alley.

"That's… a surprisingly good suggestion, actually" said Gumi, a little taken aback that Miku had actually managed to give her some useful method of escape.

"Surprising?" Miku replied, a little indignantly. "There's no one alive who knows that town better than me! Who was the one who spent most of her childhood staying with every family in town? I know the inside and outside of practically every building."

Gumi realized she really _was_ right. Considering her… unique upbringing, there probably wasn't anyone better qualified for this than Miku. Plus, there wasn't really anyone else available anyways so she'd have to take what she could get.

"Ok… yeah, I see your point" she conceded. "Give me a minute to get over there."

She replaced the "phone" in her pocket. She reached out with her right hand and grasped the handle of her scooter. Peaking around the edge again, she made sure the coast was clear before crossing the street to pass through the sparse cover a few front yards could provide. Thankfully, Mr. Stetson lived on this street. Gumi had never been so grateful that someone could have such a strange interest in topiary. The assorted hedges and decorative trees afforded her a few much-needed hiding spots.

She eventually made it to the end of the street. Crouched behind a big blue recycling receptacle, she could see her target. The gas station had a narrow alleyway on its eastern side which wasn't visible from the soldier's position. Its opposite end was obscured by some thick vegetation, which would veil her escape nicely. She went a short distance further down the street on her left, and then doubled back so she could cross without being seen. She ended up right at the mouth of the alley, which she slipped into quickly, wheeling her scooter in behind her.

Once she'd made it to the opposite end she took the phone out of her pocket again. "Hey, I made it. I think I'm home free. There doesn't seem to be anyone over here. I'm just about out. You two should probably leave." She kept her voice low, for fear that the soldiers might be close enough to overhear.

"You're good? Awesome!" came Miku's reply. "I'll go get Luka. We've been ready to go for days!"

"I can't believe this actually worked" said Gumi, slightly stunned that she had actually made it this far. She exited the alley and turned right. "I was sure something was going to go…"

She froze. There was a man, a soldier, standing directly in front of her. His gun was leaning up against the concrete wall of the building adjacent to the gas station and he had a cigarette clasped firmly between two fingers.

"wrong" she nearly whispered the last word. For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other. He seemed to be as shocked to see her as she was him. Then, as one, both of their eyes slowly trailed downward to rest on the rifle leaning against the wall.

They moved at the same time. Both of them lunged towards the gun. Both the phone and the cigarette fell to the concrete. Gumi was closer and she reached it first. There was just one problem. She had never used a gun before in her life. Before she could even begin to ascertain how to operate it, the soldier was on top of her. She fell backwards as he tackled her, and as she landed she heard (but mostly felt) a loud crunch as the walkie-talkie was crushed beneath their combined weight.

The struggle was a brief one. Gumi was no match for her much larger opponent and he soon had her pinned. She could barely move. She would have been doomed right there had she not suddenly noticed that this particular soldier didn't seem to be wearing a vest. She could only assume that this was because he wasn't part of an extraction team. This fact wouldn't have been anything particularly noteworthy had her right arm not also been trapped between the two of them. In this position, the spikes on the glove had pierced the front of his shirt and made contact with bare skin.

What happened next took only an instant, but felt like an eternity to Gumi. In less than a second the obvious course of action became apparent. Her eyes widened and her pulse quickened. _Oh no…_ _Oh please no. Don't make me do that…_ she pleaded silently.

Fate was an impassive observer in this case, however, and there was no one to answer her pleas. She quickly realized that there was no other choice. She couldn't pass up such a perfect opportunity, no matter how opposed to it she was. It was either this, or she was caught.

For a brief moment, her eyes met those of the soldier. _I'm sorry _she tried to communicate through her gaze alone. The man's eyes simply looked back at her, brows knitted in concentration as he fumbled for his radio.

Shifting her weight, she shoved her upper arm against the man and rammed the little black box into his shoulder, pressing the button. The Concession came to life, humming and clicking dangerously.

Almost immediately the man on top of her began to convulse. The experience was a terrifying one for Gumi, but she couldn't leave anything to chance at this point. She held the button down and allowed the current to continue to flow. It shut itself off after several seconds had passed. The man stopped his shaking and lay still, groaning slightly.

With some effort, she shoved the man's immobile body off of her. He protested weakly and tried to grab her again, but she wasn't going to give him another chance. She grabbed her scooter and prepared to speed off before something on the ground caught her eye.

Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the remains of the walkie-talkie. A terrible realization crossed her mind: without that, she had no means of contacting Miku. There was no way to tell her she'd gotten away or to let her know they needed to leave to meet her. How would she know what to do? Where to go? How to survive? She didn't know the first thing about traveling.

Her thoughts were cut short as circumstance once again reared its ugly head. The man was already getting to his feet. A stun gun was painful, but only provided her a few seconds at most. Quickly stuffing the pieces of the walkie-talkie into her shoulder bag, she hopped on her scooter and sped away as fast as she could.

As she rode, her mind raced. What would she do now? What _could _she do now? Miku and Luka would obviously fear the worst and assume she had been caught. What else could they think? Miku had definitely heard the beginnings of the struggle before the walkie was destroyed. With no way to contact them and inform them that she was ok, she'd be alone.

A type of fear that Gumi had never known before gripped her heart as the wind whipped through her hair. For the first time in her life, she realized that there was no one there to help her. The road in front of her, though it was broad daylight, seemed to her the darkest thing she had ever seen, filled with uncertainty and despair.

There was only one thing she knew for sure as she looked ahead at the miles in front of her: Miku wouldn't be coming to save her.

She was on her own.

********************************Vocal Vision************************************

"Wrong…" said Gumi's voice from the earpiece.

There was a moment of silence. Then Miku heard a sharp crack as Gumi dropped her walkie. "Gumi? Gumi! What's going on? What was that noise?" said Miku, concern creeping into her voice. There came the sounds of a struggle before…

KRZZZT!

The line went dead.

"Gumi? Gumi!? GUMI!" shouted Miku, clutching the walkie and screaming into the receiver. There was no response.

"GUMI! GUMI SAY SOMETHING!" she yelled, her cries quickly becoming hysterical. Still, the line remained silent.

Miku then did something that she never did. She started to cry. Not crying like one would cry when watching a sad movie. These were violent, full-bodied sobs accompanied by wails of despair. It quickly deteriorated into silent quaking and gasping as she sunk to her knees, holding the walkie in her hands and just staring at it, unable to tear her gaze away.

Luka burst into the room, alarmed by Miku's sudden outburst.

"What's going on? What happened?" she said, her tone concerned. She stopped at the door, taken aback by the scene in front of her.

_As Luka watched from the doorway, Miku clutched the makeshift phone to her chest. Her hair hid her eyes behind a curtain of blue, but it couldn't hide the tears of rage and despair that flowed freely down her cheeks and left little spots on her shirt._

_One word._

"_Gumi…"_

It was immediately apparent to Luka that Gumi's escape had met with some unexpected trouble. She drew in a sharp breath. This was bad. This was very bad. Emotionally speaking, Miku had been unstable enough lately. She couldn't postulate on how this turn of events might affect her.

"Miku…?" she started softly, taking a hesitant step towards her student's crying form.

Miku's head snapped up to look at her. The look in her eyes was one that Luka knew all too well. It was the look of one at crisis with themselves. That mixture of rage, sadness, and fear had adorned the features of far too many of the people she had chased as a mercenary.

Seeing it on Miku nearly broke her heart.

"Listen… I know this is hard… but you need to…" she began.

"I need to what, exactly!?" spat Miku, her features suddenly contorting with rage. "Calm down? Is that what you were about to say? I need to calm down? My best friend just got captured by soldiers and you just want me to CALM DOWN, IS THAT IT!?"

Luka kept her tone level. "I'm not trying to argue with you, but we need to consider all of our options here. Do you know for sure that she got caught?"

Miku's anger only grew. "I heard it happen! I sat here and _listened_ to her get taken when I should have been there _helping_ her escape! It's my f…"

"Not another word!" said Luka, her intensity flaring suddenly. "Don't you dare start blaming yourself for this!"

"What would you know about it!?" Miku fired back. "You're the one who convinced me not to go in the first place! I should never have listened to your stupid advice!"

Luka began to get wary. She didn't like where this was headed. Raising her hands in a placating gesture she circled around to Miku's front, standing at the foot of her bed.

"Listen. This situation is bad, yes, but we aren't going to get anywhere if we lose our heads. What we need to do now is think about what to do next." She took a step forward, Miku practically growled back at her. She acted as if she hadn't even heard Luka's appeal.

Miku's eyes narrowed as she continued speaking, fixing Luka with an icy glare. "Yeah… that's right, isn't it? I could have been there to save her if it wasn't for _you._" She said the last word with too much venom for Luka to ignore.

Ok, now she REALLY didn't like where this was going. "Miku. Stop. Please. You're very angry right now. That's understandable. But we can't start pointing fingers here. This isn't the fault of either of us. Gumi knew that she might not make it out. She went into this knowing what could happen."

Miku's glare intensified. "So now you're saying it's _her_ fault!?" she said, her eyes looking more dangerous by the second. "You think she got _herself_ caught, is that it? That she was too weak to pull it off? That she doesn't matter!?"

This was quickly spiraling out of control. Luka tried in vain to grasp hold of the reins of the rapidly deteriorating conversation. "I never said that. If you would just listen to me we could…"

"No! I'm not listening to you anymore!" yelled Miku, standing up again. "Gumi's only in this mess because I listened to you in the first place!" Her hands clenched into fists.

Luka was really starting to get worried now. She activated her Vocal Vision and, sure enough, Miku's energy was starting to flare. Her blue aura leapt and flickered like fire, steadily growing along with her rage. Luka gave one last attempt at pacifying her irate pupil.

"Fighting amongst ourselves is not going to solve anything!" she yelled back, gathering a small amount of her own energy. This was not lost on Miku, who immediately dropped into a fighting stance. "Please! Let's just sit down and talk this out! Gumi wouldn't want you to…"

But Miku was beyond reason. "DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT GUMI!" she shouted. With a yell, she leapt at her master.

Luka caught the attack easily and spun Miku around, throwing her back to the floor. But she wasn't expecting what came next. Instead of stopping, Miku continued forward. She jumped, planting her feet squarely on the opposite wall. Luka saw the energy gather in her legs and barely had time to bring her guard up before Miku shot herself off like a rocket, hurtling directly at her.

Luka immediately regretted her decision to move to the foot of the bed. As Miku crashed into her she was dimly aware that there had been a window directly behind her. The forward momentum of Miku's charge lifted Luka off her feet and they both crashed into the pane of glass, shattering it and throwing them out into the bright afternoon sun.

Being on the second story, they immediately began to fall in a wide, lazy arc. It was only by Luka's lightning-fast reflexes that they avoided a messy crash landing. Throwing her powers into full tilt, she reached one arm out behind her and landed on it. Using her energy, she canceled out the force of hitting the ground and redirected it. She wrapped her other arm around Miku and executed an extremely tight spin on her supporting hand. She launched her student away from her, coming to rest on one knee with hardly a hair out of place.

On any normal day, Miku would have cared that she had just witnessed the most impressive feat of acrobatics she had ever seen in her life. However, at the moment she was far too angry to care about anything other than beating the ever-loving snot out of her mentor. She flipped in the air and planted her feet into the ground, skidding to a stop.

Teacher and student eyed each other from across the clearing. Luka spoke up. "Miku, I do not want to fight you, but don't think for one second that I'll go easy on you. It's clear that you're not thinking straight. If this is how I have to make you see it…"

"Fine by me! I never said I wanted you to go easy anyways!" Miku shouted back, flaring her energy again.

"So be it" said Luka. "If you want the tiger, then you'll get her."

Miku had no idea what that meant, but she didn't have much time to wonder. Luka slowly lowered herself into a stance that she had never seen. Her teacher's aura suddenly grew in size until it was at least three times larger than she had ever seen it. Her eyes blazed a bright pink.

Then she disappeared. There was no other way to accurately describe it. One moment she was there, and the next she wasn't. The only way Miku was able to track her movement was by the fist that sunk itself suddenly into her gut, and by that point tracking Luka's movement was irrelevant.

Now, Miku had gotten used to having the wind knocked out of her. It had practically become a part of her daily training regimen. Not like this. This wasn't just a punch. It was pure agony.

The fist hurt, sure, but the energy blast that followed it was infinitely more painful. It felt like being hit in the gut with a cannon, or at least Miku imagined that it couldn't be far off.

But it didn't stop there. A second punch followed the first, and then a third. On the fourth hit Luka's open palm slammed into Miku's chest and sent her flying back a few feet. Once again, she caught herself before she hit the ground, but Luka was on her again before she could blink.

It was at this point that Miku realized just how far in over her head she was. Luka didn't seem to be moving so much as teleporting from place to place. Even with her Vocal Vision, Miku could only see her when she stopped to strike. It was also at this point that Miku realized she didn't give a single rat's ass about how strong Luka was. Her anger burned away the pain.

But her anger alone couldn't stop the beating.

Luka's attack was relentless. Blow after blow rained down on every part of Miku's body, all of them too fast for her to react to, all of them more painful than anything she had ever felt.

Suddenly, by some chance, she caught a slight blur of movement coming in on her left and threw up her arm in time to block. She immediately counterattacked with a powerful kick, but the only thing she hit was air.

"Now the monkey!" she heard Luka yell. Miku knew that Luka had a thing for animals, but this was new. She had never seen any of this before. Before she could begin to wonder what "the monkey" could be, Luka once again answered her with her actions. Executing an almost impossible dodge maneuver she grabbed hold of Miku's leg and actually _climbed_ it. One arm grabbed her shoulder and Luka swung herself around Miku's back, her feet never touching the ground. She grabbed Miku's other shoulder and completed the rotation, her right arm coming to rest on Miku's neck. Her weight suddenly seemed to return and she drove Miku straight into the dust, slamming her down on her back.

Her hand still clasped around Miku's neck, Luka said "Give up. You can't even do anything."

"Screw you!" Miku shouted back. And so the torture continued.

"Fine! Now the bear!" said Luka, calling upon yet another creature. She lifted Miku up completely by her throat and threw her into a nearby tree. Before gravity had a chance to drag Miku down, Luka barreled into her with a vicious shoulder charge. The tree trunk splintered from the force.

Miku's vision was swimming at this point. She felt two hands grab her shoulders before she was lifted completely into the air and tossed like a rag doll. She struggled to her feet and saw Luka slowly approaching her, a predator closing in for the kill.

She summoned what energy she could into her hand and threw it at Luka. Luka's form flashed to the side and the blast missed completely. She summoned another and threw it too, but her teacher would not be hit. Each bolt of vocal power failed to touch anything but the landscape behind her.

This continued until Luka was standing mere inches away. Miku threw a punch and Luka blocked it. She threw another and Luka blocked that one as well. The entire time, Luka's gaze didn't leave her face, her expression impassive and her eyes hard and unforgiving.

At last Miku's anger could sustain her strength no longer. She threw one more punch. Instead of swatting it aside Luka caught her wrist and held it. Miku tried to hit her with her other fist. Luka caught that one too and held it the same.

She struggled for a few seconds longer before tears overtook her again and she slumped. But before she could fall, Luka wrapped her up in a hug and held her there as the pain and anger ran their course. Miku buried her head in Luka's shoulder and bawled her eyes out, not caring if she had been trying to kill her moments before. Some distant part of her mind, which would usually have been telling her how much of a pansy she was being, remained silent.

They stood there for what felt like hours, Miku sobbing uncontrollably into Luka's shirt as she was held and comforted. At that moment Miku was nothing more than a scared teenage girl, worried to death about her best friend. Eventually the crying dwindled down to only the occasional hiccup.

"It's ok…" Luka whispered soothingly as she gently stroked the back of Miku's head. "I know it's hard. But everything will be ok, I promise."

"I know" came Miku's muffled reply.

"Good" said Luka.

"No, I mean I know. I figured it out" Miku clarified.

"Figured what out?" asked Luka, puzzled.

"My purpose" she said simply. "Just now. It hit me. I know."

Luka drew her away to arms length. Her expression hardened again. "You're sure?"

Miku just nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve and sniffling a bit.

Luka just stared at her for a few moments, her gaze probing Miku's features. She released her shoulders and stepped back a few paces. "Well… I guess there's really only one question to ask then."

Luka raised her hand and pointed straight at Miku. In a loud, commanding tone she asked: "Miku Hatsune, why do you fight?"

Miku raised her head. Her cheeks were stained with drying tears but a fiery resolve burned in her eyes. It was without a hint of uncertainty that she replied:

"I fight for my friends."

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

Well… there you have it. Over two months of work has culminated in this chapter. Words cannot accurately describe how much I stressed over how to exactly tell the events I wanted. It probably went through at least 5 different iterations before I finally settled on this version.

With that said, I am extremely sorry that this took so long to finish. I couldn't bring myself to put it up until I felt absolutely sure that it was right. I trust that the end result did not disappoint.

This chapter marks the end of the first story arc. Starting in chapter 12 it will be moving on to the next big plotline as everyone tries to figure out just what to do about what's happened. Teto's exploded her house and been taken. Gumi has escaped, but is now stuck by herself. Miku has finally discovered her purpose, but she believes that her best friend is now a prisoner of the system. And what of the ever-mysterious Haku? Now that her plans for Vocaloid removal have been put into full effect, what does she have in store? The answers to these questions and many more are coming up in next few months, so stay tuned!

I chose three songs for this chapter. One for each of the three situations. It's ridiculous how many times I listened to #3 while writing the final scene. My iTunes tells me it's 17 but that's not counting the times I manually restarted the song to hear a particular part again. Anyways, here are the musical selections for chapter 11:

"Confront! You Look So Cool!" – This song is just awesome. The lyrics fit perfectly for this because it's all about learning to rely on yourself. The animation that goes with it is really neat as well. Just… disregard the last line. Teto would never say something like that XD.

Link to Subbed Youtube video: watch?v=ufpa8hzVwbg

Link to Original video: .jp/watch/sm7540850

"For My Soul" – For my soul, for yourself! So catchy. This song caught my attention the first time I heard it, and it really stuck out to me while I was writing this chapter. The tempo, lyrics, and melody all lend themselves perfectly to my vision of Gumi's escape. Go give it a listen, you won't be disappointed.

Link to Subbed Youtube video: watch?v=AJxxvRdPDGY&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLADBA3F04CF0DE1A0

Link to Original video: .jp/watch/sm12549171

"World's End Dancehall" – Yeah, this is what I used for the fight scene between Miku and Luka. Ok, so it wasn't so much a fight scene as it was a "Miku gets the tar beaten out of her" scene, but it was still fun! Go Luka!

Link to Subbed Youtube video: watch?v=0y6J7kqc9_4

Link to Original video: .jp/watch/sm12326781

So much good music. Go listen to it and enjoy! As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

Before I close this out I'd like to send out huge thank you's to all of my readers! I can't believe it's been over a year since I started writing this fic! Here's to all of you who have stuck with me and will continue to do so in the future! You guys are the reason I write!

With that said, I wouldn't mind a few reviews on this chapter. I know my writing style has improved greatly from the earlier chapters but I'm always looking to improve! If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or anything else you want to say, drop me a PM or a review and I'll get back to you! And tell your friends!

Ok, ranting is done now. I need to sleep for like a week now. Expect chapter 12 before the end of August (Lord willing and the creek don't rise, as they say). This is AnarchySong, signing off!

36 | Page


	12. Clonderwell's Dynamic Duo!

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

Also, I have introduced a new writing convention in this chapter. Any time you see "~V~" as a page break, it indicates a temporary change in point of view. The scene remains the same.

**********************************Chapter 12***********************************

Burning. That was the first sensation that Miku registered as she woke up. Several different types of burning, in fact. There were her muscles, which burned with their usual soreness born of her exhaustive daily training. Her fresh bruises of the previous afternoon also burned with a dull ache that it was clear would remain for days.

But above all else was the fire that had begun to burn in her heart. The flame of her newfound purpose was quickly becoming an uncontrollable blaze that consumed her every thought.

It seemed strange to her now that it ever could have eluded her. As apparent to her as it now was, she wondered just how she ever could have missed something so obvious. She didn't really feel any different, other than that the constant, nagging thoughts of needing to discover her purpose were now absent. Actually, for the first time in a long while, she felt normal.

But more than just her purpose, the previous days' events had brought with them a burst of clarity that clearly illuminated the path in front of her.

What needed to happen next was simple: she had to find Gumi. Her best friend had been taken, and now it was her job to go and take her back. Discovering her purpose had made her realize that she fought to ensure the wellbeing of her friends, and so fight she would.

The method by which she would accomplish this was still as unclear as it had been the day before, but the difference this time was in her attitude. Finally, her outlook on the Vocaloid crisis matched her outlook on everything else: optimistic. If the problem hadn't been solved yet, then it was only because she hadn't tried to do something about it. As far as she was concerned, all the political parties, anti-Vocaloid revolutionaries, and assorted branches of the military that the government could throw at her couldn't stop the class-five hurricane that was Miku Hatsune.

It occurred to her at that moment that she should actually get started on the whole "rescue Gumi" thing. Lying in bed and waxing philosophical wasn't going to solve any problems, and it wasn't really her style anyways.

As she sat up and swung her legs out from under the covers (an action which caused her no small amount of discomfort), she noticed an unusual draft blowing through the room.

_That's weird…_ she thought. _I'm sure I closed the…"_

Her eyes fell on the empty frame formerly occupied by her window, which was, of course, now nothing more than a pile of shattered and powdered glass decorating the dirt outside.

_Window… right... that's gonna come back to haunt me, I can feel it._

Well, no sense putting it off any longer than necessary. If she was going to get an earful from Luka then best to get it out of the way now. Besides, she was probably going to have to do some impressive convincing to get her mentor to participate in… whatever this thing she was planning was.

…

It therefore came as quite a shock that the first sight to greet her eyes upon entering the living room was her aforementioned mentor sitting on the couch near two large, fully stocked traveling backpacks.

"So…" she said, turning around and flashing one of her signature smiles. "When do we leave?"

Their eyes met, and a brief moment of understanding passed between the two. They didn't need to speak about what had happened yesterday. Everything that needed to be said had been said already.

Miku had to will herself not to cry again.

No less than fifteen minutes later, after covering up the gaping hole that was once Miku's window, they were out the door and heading for Clonderwell City. Luka said that if they were to find any information concerning Gumi's whereabouts, they would need access to government databases; databases which were only accessible from a Department of Vocaloid Affairs Data Center, the nearest of which was located in the heart of Clonderwell's bustling inner district.

Luka had, as was usual when they traveled, dyed her hair completely black. Miku thought it made her look ridiculous, and she said as much, but Luka would not budge on the subject. She said things could get bad if someone recognized her, however astronomical the odds.

As they walked along, Miku couldn't help but feel a certain amount of gratitude towards her teacher. Not only had she been whole-heartedly in support of going to find Gumi, but she had put together a serviceable plan to accomplish that goal as well.

Miku had thought that they would be breaking into Clonderwell's DVADC to get the information they needed. At least until Luka had told her that information concerning Vocaloid registration was public record, and they could just walk in and look it up themselves. She was a bit disappointed.

Miku put her arms up and intertwined her fingers behind her head. Oh well. Maybe easy was preferable from time to time. It would certainly expedite the process. Besides, Luka seemed to have forgiven her for breaking that window. If a boring trip to a government building was the price she had to pay for that, then so be it.

"Miku" said Luka, suddenly.

"Yeah? What's up?" she replied, turning her head, arms still raised.

"Don't think this means I've forgotten about making you pay for that window."

She nearly tripped.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Fifteen minutes later the two were still walking side by side. Miku felt a certain sense of déjà vu about the situation. It was almost exactly like the first time she had met Luka several months beforehand, only today they had barely spoken, choosing instead to enjoy the scenery. As they came to the sign at the fork in the road that told them Clonderwell City could be found at the end of the lefthand path, she thought back to that day.

A lot had changed since then. Now that she thought about it, it seemed almost like another life. She smiled as she recalled Luka telling her that she was a lone traveler going to visit her ailing mother. How little she had known about her back then.

Actually, how little she _still_ knew about her, come to think of it. What did she really know about Luka, besides a few fragments of her past? Suddenly Miku's mind was full of questions. How exactly had she met Haku? Who was her mysterious "master" that she mentioned occasionally? Why exactly was she afraid that someone might recognize her? She decided to start with an easy one.

"So…" she started, tentatively breaking the silence. "What was up with all those things you were yelling yesterday? Tigers, bears, monkeys, all that?"

"_Stacosino oniigasen_" Luka muttered under her breath.

"Uh…"

"Oh, sorry" Luka apologized for her vague answer. "It's Lucentian. In the common language it roughly translates to: 'style of the animal spirits.' It's one of the oldest and most venerated fighting styles in the world, and the only martial arts schools that teach it are in Lucentia." Luka said the last part with a degree of pride in her voice. "Not that there are many left, though."

"That's pretty cool I guess…" said Miku, obviously not as interested in the subject as Luka was. "So do you have to shout the animal names or what?"

Luka grinned a bit sheepishly. "Nah, that was just for effect. It's been so long since I've actually used any of those techniques. I couldn't resist." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "How long has it been? Twelve years? I'm surprised I remembered it all."

"How does it work?" asked Miku, far more interested in what the style could do rather than its history.

"It's actually pretty simple, in theory" said Luka, becoming thoughtful. "It's basically just a bunch of stances based on animals, with appropriately named techniques. There's the 'Tiger's Claw', and the 'Climbing Monkey', and of course the 'Will of the Bear.'"

"Right…" said Miku. "So tell me, what low-budget Kung Fu movie did you come out of? Because, seriously? None of that sounds real at all."

"Want another demonstration?" Luka said threateningly. Miku changed the subject quickly.

"You said something about a different language? I didn't know you spoke a different language."

"_Maka laquan mi tu nakana_" she replied with a smug look. She noticed Miku staring at her incredulously. "What? Like I said before, it's Lucentian."

"I'm not sure if you're actually serious, or just trying really hard to trick me into thinking you are."

"It means 'There's a lot about me you don't know'" said Luka. "Lucentian is a real language, look it up. Besides, would I really lie to you about something trivial like that?"

Miku's only response was a deadpan stare.

"Ok, maybe I would. But I'm telling the truth this time. _Mi'a prida affora_. On my honor."

"Your honor… right…" said Miku, nonplussed. "Why am I just now finding out about this?"

"Well it's not like I was trying to hide it from you" said Luka. "Forgive me if I refrained from using my country's vernacular around someone who wouldn't understand a word of it. Maybe if you had even attempted to so much as pick up any of the books in my house, you'd have realized that you couldn't read most of them."

Hey! I'm not _that_ stupid!" said Miku indignantly.

"They're written in Lucentian, smart one" said Luka, trying her hardest to keep her face and her palm from colliding.

"Oh… right" said Miku. "Yeah, I totally knew that."

"Of course you did. Just like you _knew_ those berries you ate back in June were poisonous, or like how you _knew_ that those shrubs out behind the house were actually painstakingly cultivated vegetables from back home. Oh, and of course how can we forget the time you _knew_ that you had set the VCR to record the season finale of 'Superstar Security'?"

"If you would just get TiVo already that wouldn't even be a problem" said Miku, having heard these same gripes plenty of times before. "Who even uses a VCR anymore? Besides, I don't even know why you watch that show. Who cares what Lily's personal bodyguards do on their time off? It's all scripted anyways."

"And I suppose your VWA wrestling is any more "real"?" retorted Luka. "Honestly. I don't know how you can watch such nonsense. Talk about scripted. I mean really, if any of those guys actually-"

Luka stopped abruptly. She was staring at Miku, who had stopped briefly to pick up a coin on the ground. Her eyes went wide and she suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Miku by the wrist and pulling her back.

"Ow! Hey! What gives!?" said Miku, trying to pull away.

"You can't pick that up!" said Luka. "It's incredibly dangerous!"

"What? Why not? I saw it first!" Miku said indignantly.

"Why not!? Just look at it!" yelled Luka, gesturing wildly.

Miku scrutinized the coin carefully. It was round, metal, shiny, about three-quarters of an inch across. Altogether it looked to be just a regular coin.

"It's just a regular coin" Miku said as much.

"Of course it's a regular coin. What did you expect?" asked Luka, acting like Miku was suggesting the coin was a cat or some nonsense.

Miku simply stared, one eyebrow raised. She crossed her arms. "Ok, either you're crazy, or I'm missing something here. If it's the first one, let me be the first to say I saw this coming a mile away."

Choosing to ignore Miku's comment on her sanity, Luka continued: "What I mean is, yes, it is a regular coin. But look closer."

Miku complied and took a closer look at the coin. She observed it from every possible angle and, just as before, there appeared to be absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about it. It was still just a coin.

"I don't get it" she finally stated, stumped. "As far as I can tell it's nothing but a coin. Can I please pick it up now?"

Luka sighed exasperatedly, as if Miku was missing something as plain as day. "Just take one more look. Note its position. What state is it in?"

Miku's made an expression that clearly said 'the hell are you on?' "The state it's in? I don't even know what the hell you're talking about anymore. It's a coin. It's in the state of being a coin, I guess? It can't really be in any other state than the one it's in right now."

"Which side is facing up?" said Luka, giving Miku an expectant look.

"Umm… tails?"

"Yes!" said Luka, clapping her hands together happily. "Now you understand."

Now it was Miku's turn to resist the strong impulse to facepalm. Whatever this was, she was still completely clueless. "Ok, so it's tails side up. Great. Now can I have it?"

Luka let out yet another sigh. "Miku, you can't pick up a coin that's tails side up. It's bad juju."

Miku was taken aback for only a moment, partly because Luka had just used the word 'juju' in a completely serious sentence, and partly because she couldn't believe the strongest Vocaloid alive would believe in something so silly. She quickly regained her composure, however, and replied: "Ok… so… let me get this straight. You, Luka Megurine, the strongest person on earth, won't pick up a coin because it's… bad luck?"

"You act as if this is some sort of joke" said Luka. "I assure you, the orientation of discarded change and its effect on the karma of the obtaining individual is serious business. You can never know how much bad luck it's accumulated. What if it had been laying there for years, gathering negative karma, just waiting for some unsuspecting young girl to come along and ruin her life?"

Miku was completely lost at this point. She couldn't believe that Luka was serious about this, and yet her expression betrayed not a hint of insincerity. "So… I _can't_ pick it up then?"

"Of course you can pick it up" said Luka. "You just have to dispel the bad luck first."

"And how do I do that?" asked Miku, becoming more confused by the minute.

As answer, Luka walked up to the coin, bent down, and quickly flipped it over to the heads up position. She then picked it up and handed it to Miku. "There! Completely safe!"

For a moment Miku could do nothing but work her mouth soundlessly. "I… but… Are you kidding me with this!? What was the point of all of this if that's all it takes!?"

"Now Miku," Luka began, slipping easily into lecture mode (Miku cringed inwardly at the sound), "there are many reasons one should not carelessly pick up coins."

Miku stared in horror. This was very bad. They still had a long walk ahead of them to Clonderwell, and Luka was already speaking full-on nonsense. She had to act fast or this was going to get out of hand very quickly. "Alright. I believe you. There must be-"

"Ah ah" Luka said, holding up a hand. "No interrupting. Come on. We're burning daylight. I'll tell you on the way."

She was too late. It was unstoppable now.

"Let's start at the beginning" Luka began. "In order to understand the necessary concepts we must first familiarize ourselves with basic luck theory."

Miku's eye twitched. It was going to be a very long walk indeed…

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Six hours.

It had never before occurred to Miku precisely how long six hours could be. But then again, she had never before been subjected to six hours of uninterrupted lecture on the finer points of accumulating various types and amounts of luck, which, she had assumed until now, couldn't be a very in-depth discussion.

The short explanation is that she was wrong. Oh so very wrong. Luka was doing a great job of handling the long explanation, though.

It had been brought to her attention in methodical, systematic, and excruciating detail that the science of luck was, in fact, quite a deep and rather involved subject. There had even been bullet points and a graph. She couldn't fathom why Luka would have thought to bring such items with her, let alone how she could have envisioned that there would be occasion to use them.

But use them she had, and she was still going. Luka was currently expounding on the exact mathematical formulae that determined a coin's… how had she put it… "relative rate of accretion of positive and negative circumstantial influence in regards to spatial positioning." Something that Miku was sure Gumi would be profoundly interested in, but that went so far over her own head as to be almost comical.

Almost. If it weren't so incredibly painful.

"And so," Luka was saying, "we can see that the amount of accumulated luck can be determined by the function ln(_t_), where _t_ is the time, in seconds, since the coin was dropped. We will refer to this as L(_t_). Of course, it therefore follows that the rate of accumulation can be determined by simple differentiation. As a result, we are left with L'(_t_), or y' = ln(_t_)/d_t_, which can be defined as-"

Yeah, Gumi would definitely be interested. Miku, however, as was common when Luka got into her stride, found herself unable to give even one rat's ass about the whole thing.

_Please, if there is a God, let this torture end_ Miku thought desperately.

As if in answer to her prayers, the trees began to thin just as Miku was beginning to seriously wonder if she could feasibly strangle Luka if she approached quietly from behind. As they stepped out of the forest, Miku letting out an almost euphoric cry of "FINALLY!", and Luka giving a slight 'hmpf' as her lecturing was interrupted, they got their first glimpse of the city.

The view was breathtaking, to say the least. Several miles to the east, a mountain range stretched away from them into the distance under a crystal clear blue sky. The river Clonder, from which the city got its name, could be seen as it wound its way down through the rocky terrain, finally fading from view as it encountered a thin smattering of trees at the mountain's base.

The city itself was even more impressive, at least by Miku's standards. It was enormous, far bigger than she had expected. The northern edge of the city, which they were closest to, was dominated mostly by run-down houses and old abandoned buildings. Obviously, this was the lower-class section of the city. The place wherein dwell those people who, no matter how hard they work, always seem to be trapped in a perpetual state of debt from which they can never quite escape.

Further in, the buildings became steadily taller. This section of the city consisted mostly of offices and commercial buildings. The part they could see appeared to be an older suburb, the buildings in slight disrepair, many of them in severe need of a new coat of paint.

Due to its sheer size, the city proper instantly drew the eyes of any onlooker. Enormous skyscrapers reached up into the noonday sky, their reflective windowed surfaces gleaming in the sunlight. Here and there, large, expensive-looking apartment buildings sprung up, sporting lavish exteriors and extravagant penthouse suites, noticeable only by their large decks and observation platforms. Miku was curious as to whether or not they also had rooftop swimming pools, but she couldn't tell from where she stood.

Up ahead, they could see where the dirt path they were on turned into an asphalt one. At the same place where the pavement began, there stood a large green sign bearing the message:

WELCOME TO CLONDERWELL CITY

POP. 5,366,734

THE WELLSPRING OF HOPE

Miku was very nearly moved to tears by the beauty of it all. Well, that and the fact that she was finally free of Luka's incessant chattering. She spoke up before Luka could start again. "Alright, where are we headed?" She wasn't actually particularly concerned with directions; she just really didn't think she could stand hearing the phrase "accumulation of karmic imbalance" again.

Luka pointed to one of the far away buildings. "There. That's the Vocaloid Affairs Data Center. Their public records section should be able to tell us what we need to know."

Miku squinted. She could just barely make out the building Luka indicated. It was nestled between two larger office structures that hid most of it from view. The only thing that set it apart was a large antennae attached to the roof.

"How far away is that exactly?" Miku asked, sure that the answer was not 'just a little ways.'

Luka confirmed this. "A few miles. Clonderwell City is huge. It'll probably take us the better part of an hour to get there if we keep up our pace."

Miku smiled. "Or it could take just a few minutes if we go a little faster…" She flexed her leg muscles and flared a bit of vocal power through them to get her point across.

"Absolutely not" said Luka. Her tone left no room for argument. "It's way too risky, especially in the city. If we were noticed by someone and they outed us, we'd be in real danger. We have to keep a low profile while we're here."

Miku grumbled a bit, but even she had to admit that the logic behind Luka's reasoning was sound. "Fine. Let's get moving then. I want to get there sometime today."

"So impatient…" said Luka wistfully as Miku marched on ahead. "Ah to be young again." She immediately checked herself, chuckling uneasily. _Not to say that I'm _old_ or anything of course, heh._

As they walked, the city gradually rose up around them like a great beast slowly rousing from slumber. Even out this far, there were people everywhere. Cars drove up and down the roads, and they finally had to confine themselves to the sidewalks. This was particularly annoying to Miku, who tapped her foot impatiently whenever they had to wait to cross a street.

Luka's clothing earned her more than few sideways glances from passersby, as well as an acknowledging nod from an old woman who was dressed similarly. Rather than enjoy being recognized by a fellow countryman, however, it only made her nervous. "I really need to buy some new clothes. The last thing I need is for someone from Lucentia to recognize me. In fact…" She proceeded to remove her headphones and store them in a pocket of her backpack, as well as zipping up the split side of her skirt. Miku hadn't even known her skirt had that functionality. She had to admit, though, Luka certainly looked a lot less remarkable now.

"Wouldn't it be nice to see someone from home after so long?" Miku asked.

"I came here for a reason. That part of my life is over" she replied flatly. Miku wasn't satisfied with that answer. She hated it when her mentor got all moody. It was almost as bad as when she got philosophical, or historical, or mathematical, or, God forbid, into the mood for _lecturing_. She took off her back pack and opened one of the front flaps, rummaging around inside for something.

Luka eyed her student uneasily as she finally found the pair of headphones that she had been given as an All Splendor's Eve gift. Slipping them on, Miku replaced her backpack and continued walking like nothing had happened.

"Ok, what's up?" asked Luka warily.

"Hm? Nothing's up. I just felt like wearing these is all" replied Miku nonchalantly. "I realized that I hadn't even tried them on since you gave them to me, you know?" She adjusted them several different ways before finally just letting them hang around her neck.

Luka pointedly ignored the gesture for several quiet minutes, casting furtive glances at her protégé every few moments. Miku noticed, but said nothing.

Finally, Luka spoke up. "You're… supposed to wear them over your ears…" she said softly, trying to act uninterested.

"What's that?" said Miku, unable to keep a small mischievous quality out of her voice.

"You're supposed to wear them over your ears. It's disrespectful otherwise" she repeated, still trying to sound aloof.

"Is that so?" said Miku, idly examining the nails on one of her hands. "Nah, I don't really feel like it."

"Miku, seriously. It's a mark of tradition"

"Yeah, I'm just not feeling it. This way seems a lot more modern, don'tcha think?"

"It's not about being 'modern', it's about respect!" said Luka, sounding slightly angry.

Miku grinned inwardly. "You aren't even wearing yours at all. Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I've ever seen you walk around without them."

Luka fidgeted a little, clearly uncomfortable with Miku's observation.

"I'll make you a deal" Miku continued. "I'll wear mine the 'right' way if you agree to put yours back on."

"What? Why do you care?" asked Luka.

"Because you're trying to be boring. You're trying too hard to blend in with everyone else. You're so freaking paranoid that someone is going to figure out who you are that you're not being yourself. You even dyed your hair that ugly color. Come on, Gumi's the worry machine, not you. Lighten up a bit. If someone looks at you funny, so what? Just give em' the murder eyes. That's what you do to me."

Luka was taken aback by Miku's sudden insight. Impressive, even if it was untrue. She was fine. Just because she dyed her hair and zipped up her skirt and took off her headphones and refused to use her powers and…

She caught herself. Damn it. Miku was right. She _hated_ it when Miku was right. It usually meant that she was making an idiot of herself. She sighed. When had she become such a… how had Miku put it… worry machine?

"Yeah… you're right" she admitted grudgingly after several moments of silence.

"I am?" said Miku, taken aback herself. "I mean, of course I am! Who cares if you get noticed or whatever? Bad publicity is still publicity, as they say. Or, at least I think they say that… and I'm not really sure how that even applies here… whatever, not important."

As Miku rambled on, Luka smiled to herself. It was moments like these that her student bore an almost uncanny resemblance to…

"You are so like her…" said Luka quietly.

"Hm?" Miku paused in her discourse. "What was that?"

"Nothing. Here, I'm putting them on, see?" Luka retrieved her headphones and once again slipped them over her ears. She couldn't deny that there was a satisfying familiarity to the feeling. "Come on, we're wasting time standing here."

"That's more like it! Time for action!" said Miku, pumping her fist in the air. "Let's go access some public records!"

She paused.

"You know, now that I say it that sounds _really_ boring. Couldn't we, I don't know, break in or something instead?"

Luka just laughed as they started walking again. Yep. It was like Haku was walking right next to her, outrageous attitude and all. Perhaps it was this, more than anything else, that helped to assuage her fears.

"Hey, wait a minute" said Miku, scrunching her face up in confusion. "How are headphones a tradition?"

Luka smiled. "I'm glad you asked! Actually, the practice finds its roots in the ritualistic headbands that ancient Lucentian priests used to wear. It's fascinating, really. You see, legends say that the bands helped open a spiritual channel with the Gods. The priests would wear them while performing their sacred rites and…"

A single tear ran down Miku's cheek. There was no escape.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

"Wow… big…"

"Yeah, no kidding…"

Teacher and student stared up at the imposing figure of the DVADC. Though the building was not as large as the ones surrounding it, it definitely gave off a more intimidating air. It had that undeniable feel of a government building. Maybe it was the endless parade of stone-faced, suit-clad men and women marching in and out of the glass front doors, or perhaps it was the cold, concrete walls bearing the various emblems and logos representing the departments that held offices within.

Whatever the case, they had reached their destination. Miku smiled determinedly. In here were the answers she sought. Soon she would know where Gumi was being kept, and then nothing would stop her from getting her best friend back.

"So how exactly do we do this?" asked Miku.

"It's easy" replied Luka, walking forward. "We just walk straight in and access their databases from one of the public use computers. People do it all the time."

They passed through the entryway. Instantly Miku was disenchanted with the overall atmosphere of the place. Everything about it practically screamed _boring_. The plain, white tiled floors, the incessant drone of the fluorescent lights overhead, the lingering smell of industrial grade cleaning agents, it was all very... organized. She eyed everyone with suspicion, although none of them paid her any heed whatsoever, all appearing as if they had somewhere to be, or some urgent appointment to attend to.

Luka seemed unfazed by it all, however. She strode purposefully up to the front desk, where a mousy-looking woman was click-clacking away at the keyboard of a computer terminal.

"Excuse me" she said cheerfully. "We're looking for the public records repository, I was wondering if-"

"Straight down the hallway behind me, third room on the right" said the woman, without looking up. She didn't even stop typing.

"Oh" Luka blinked in surprise. "Well… thank you. Let's go Miku."

Miku stayed in the same spot for several seconds. She eyed the woman behind the desk suspiciously. It was as if she was a machine, executing a programmed task. As she turned to follow Luka, she was shaken from her thoughts as she ran face first into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Miku apologized quickly. "I guess I wasn't watching where I was going, I-"

She stopped short, transfixed by the gaze of a single red eye. The individual who possessed said eye was a female of a remarkably pale complexion. The contrast gave the crimson orb a strange, almost haunting quality, as if it was looking into her rather than at her. Miku stood transfixed, and was only shaken back to reality when the woman spoke.

"Oh, that's quite alright" said the individual, her voice warm and friendly. "If anything it was my fault. I suppose I shouldn't let my thoughts wander as much as my feet."

Miku composed her thoughts before returning the woman's smile. She now noticed that the red eye was not, in fact, alone, but was joined by a blue one as well. The mismatched pair looked at her with embarrassment, their owner obviously upset that she had bumped into her.

She took in the woman's appearance. Her ebony hair was done up in two very bushy pigtails that splayed out on the sides of her head. She was clad in a professional looking black shirt and blue tie that complimented her eyes (one of them, at least). Completing the ensemble was a nondescript pair of formal slacks and some classy heels. All in all, she blended in perfectly with the rest of the blank-faced people milling about, save for her unique optics.

The encountered ended as abruptly as it had begun. Again bowing her head and intoning her apologies, Miku excused herself and followed Luka.

~V~

The warmth and concern that had shown on Ruko's face upon bumping into the young woman evaporated instantaneously the moment she turned away, replaced by a cold, piercing stare. Her red eye glowed almost imperceptibly as she watched the girl turn and walk briskly away towards an older woman.

Her breath caught for a moment. Ruko could have sworn she just saw a wisp of… but no. She checked again, more carefully this time. Nothing. For a moment she had thought that perhaps this wild goose chase would at last provide her with a lead, but to no avail.

The smallest of exasperated sighs escaped her lips as she once again set about her ever more difficult search. _You can't hide forever, Megurine. No one can hide from me, not even one of the sigas algrimo. I will find you. It is only a matter of time._

~V~

Miku caught up to Luka as she reached the doorway of the room that the woman at the front desk had indicated. Inside was nothing but row upon row of computers. A few were occupied, being accessed by members of the general public, but the room was largely empty. Luka immediately sat down at the nearest one.

Displayed on the screen was the logo of the Department of Vocaloid Affairs, bearing the slogan: "In Penitus Vocalum." Luka located the search function and entered her parameters.

"Ok… name… G U M I… D…" she said under her breath as she typed. "Select department… DVA… Select database… Vocaloid Relocation… Sub-Database? Why do they have to make this so complicated? Ok… umm… Locations? Isn't there just an option for… oh! Here we go! 'Select All'!"

She hit the search key. The computer thought for only a moment before a large blinking error message popped up. In vivid red letters it displayed the message "ACCESS DENIED: INSUFFICIENT CLEARANCE"

"What did you do to it?" said Miku. "Move over, I'll do it."

Miku entered the information, but upon searching a second time, they were once again presented with the same error. "Great, you broke it" she said to Luka, who shot her annoyed look.

"Out of the way. I'll get it" Luka pushed her out of the chair. The computer thought longer this time but eventually just returned…

ERROR

"I've got it!" said Miku enthusiastically. "Just search for-"

ERROR

"Maybe if we just-"

ERROR

Two minutes later the both of them were back at the front desk wearing sheepish looks. This time the woman actually moved her eyes away from the screen for a second to look at them. "Yes? Can I help you with something?" she asked testily. Though the words were helpful, her voice and expression made it clear she was obviously not enjoying the interruption.

"So sorry to bother you again" said Luka sweetly, mustering her best placating smile. "We seem to be having some trouble locating some information, and we were wondering if there's anyone who could help us."

If looks could kill, both teacher and student would have been six feet under. Nonetheless, the desk clerk accompanied them back to the records room. "Alright, what seems to be the problem?" she asked, tapping her foot impatiently.

Miku stepped forward. Her brash personality was making it difficult for her to put up with this woman, but she forced a smile and said as nicely as she could: "We're looking for a friend. She's a Vocaloid, and we aren't sure where she got sent." The overall effect only served to make Miku look like she had a particularly bad case of constipation.

The woman seemed not to notice this, however, as her annoyance immediately doubled. "Are you kidding?" she put a hand to her head, exasperated. "Can't you read? All records concerning Vocaloid relocation have been sealed, pending current legislation."

"Umm… excuse me?" said Miku, not sure she had heard correctly. It sounded like the records they needed were unavailable, and that was something she could not abide. Luka was oddly quiet, her eyes dark and her expression impassive, as if she was thinking.

"I _said_ all records concerning Vocaloid relocation are restricted to the general public. That means you, kid."

Miku's attempt at being nice evaporated faster than you could blink. It changed instead to one of barely suppressed anger. She was about to give the clerk a piece of her mind, but was surprised when Luka spoke up first.

"That's what I thought you said" she stated coolly. She glared at the woman and took several steps towards her. Suddenly, her expression changed to one of supreme outrage, and she let fly with a most uncharacteristic outburst. "That's ridiculous! You can't just seal away something so important! This is a joke! It's is an affront to our rights as citizens! Who's the head of this place? I want to speak to him RIGHT NOW!"

The sudden paroxysm took the woman by surprise. She had backed up several paces by the end of Luka's tirade. Her expression now one of fear, she responded: "I-I'm sorry Miss, but it's not our decision! We just follow instructions!" with one shaking hand, she indicated a small sign next to the door.

Luka glared at her one more time before she turned around and bent close to inspect the sign. It displayed almost verbatim what the clerk had told them a moment ago.

BY ORDER OF LAW

ALL RECORDS CONCERNING VOCALOID RELOCATION ARE HEREBY

SEALED PER ARTICLE 252:7:A UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Luka's mouth moved silently as she quickly read. The message only caused her expression of disgust to intensify. Straightening up, she turned around and marched back up to the woman. Her eyes dark, she simply said "Thank you for your time. I apologize for the disturbance" and proceeded to walked towards the exit. "Come on, Miku. We're leaving."

Miku was a bit shocked at the display that had just taken place. Sure, she was angry, but Luka was absolutely furious. However, her mentor's expression told her to hold her questions until they were outside. Inclining her head quickly to the frightened clerk, she followed Luka out the door. As she left she faintly heard the woman mutter.

"Hmph. Damn tourists."

Luka walked briskly back down the hallway, with Miku struggling to keep up. She blew past the front desk, and Miku was surprised the glass of the front doors didn't outright shatter when she burst outside.

Luka was obviously extremely angry. Miku couldn't recall having ever seen her this mad. She paced back and forth on the sidewalk in front of the DVADC, muttering to herself with fists clenched. All at once she stopped and without warning punched the concrete wall of the building. A small crack formed from the impact, which was impressive considering she hadn't used an ounce of Vocal power.

"AGH! This is infuriating!" she yelled, the pitch of her voice rising.

Miku was honestly a bit confused. Sure, she was pretty ticked herself that they couldn't get the info they needed here, but there must've been other ways besides this. Luka's reaction, on the other hand, was completely out of character. Her mentor was generally very good at taking things in stride. She was definitely not the type of person to lose her cool over something like this. Miku voiced her opinion.

"Hey, just a question here, but why exactly are you so angry?" she ventured tentatively. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about it either, but we can find out where Gumi is some other way, right?"

Luka placed both palms against the wall. Her eyes fixed on a point between them and took on a faraway look. When she replied, her tone had regained much of its usual even timbre, although her anger was still very much evident.

"If what I suspect is true, then we might have a harder time finding Gumi than I thought" she replied. "This is way worse than I imagined. Sure, the quarantines and the relocations were bad but-"

Miku interrupted her. "Bad? Those things were just "bad?" You act like what's happened up to now has been a walk in the park."

"You didn't let me finish" said Luka. "Those things were bad, but we're getting into a whole new type of danger here. I can't believe I didn't see it before. I mean, I _suspected_, but I didn't really think it could be _this_ bad. But now that I see this… just look around us! Look at these people! You can see it in their eyes, they're afraid!"

Miku did just that, and indeed, when she looked closer she couldn't deny that the citizens had a certain pallor about them. Their eyes darted back and forth, their feet shuffled, their conversations were rushed and quiet. Now that she noticed it, it was a little bit creepy.

"Ok, so they're a little depressed" said Miku uneasily, not liking Luka's tone. "Maybe it's been a bad week. It rained a couple days ago, right?" she attempted a chuckle and failed miserably.

Luka shook her head. "No, it's more than that. I started to see it when we got here, but I thought it might just be the part of town we were in. But it didn't change. It's the same here as it was there. I'm surprised we haven't seen any-"

She stopped. She glanced down the street to their right. Her eyes narrowed as her suspicions were confirmed. "There. Look. Answer me this: If the relocations are finished, what are _they_ still doing here?"

Miku followed Luka's eyes and a chill settled in her chest as she saw what her teacher was looking at. Several blocks down, parked as if it were just another car, was a military jeep. Two soldiers, _armed_ soldiers, stood near it, looking bored.

"There's something wrong with this city, Miku" said Luka, her tone icy. "It's not just here, either, I'll bet. There's something wrong with this entire country."

Miku was almost afraid to ask. "So… what does it mean, exactly?"

"It means Gumi's right. There are things happening behind the scenes. Bad things. Really bad things. In my lifetime, I've encountered every type of criminal you can think of, that includes tyrants and despots. This entire situation reeks of dictatorship. Someone somewhere is trying to take over this country, and somehow they're succeeding. I think the only reason we didn't get stopped when we entered the city is because we came in on foot, but I don't expect that to last much longer."

Luka's eyes never left the vehicle parked further down the street. "We should probably get out of sight. We'll need to keep a low profile while we're here. We can't give them any reason to look into who we are or we're going to be in big trouble."

She paused.

"Also, you should really be more aware of your surroundings. That girl just stole your wallet."

The statement caught Miku off guard. This seemed like a really awkward moment to crack a joke. "Yeah right! Nice try but I think I would have noticed if someone had-"

She stopped as her hand felt the inside of her pocket. Her _empty_ pocket.

Miku spun around, her eyes fixing on the rapidly retreating form of a young girl with bright yellow hair. A white bow fluttered in the breeze atop her head. Clenched in her hand, just as Luka had said, was Miku's wallet.

In an instant Miku was off, dropping her backpack on the ground as she ran after the girl, sprinting down the sidewalk and shouting "Get back here you little thief! I'm gonna beat the crap out of you!"

"Miku wait!" Luka called after her, but it was too late. Her student rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. "Damn it! So much for keeping a low profile." She cursed under her breath and gave chase, grabbing Miku's discarded backpack and slinging one strap over her shoulder.

Rounding the corner as well, she cursed again at the sight in front of her. Before her was a street full of stores. Busy shoppers pushed to and fro, milling about with their purchases.

Miku was nowhere to be seen.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Miku. Was. Pissed.

There are certain things in this world that you just do not do to certain people. Aside from hurting her friends, Miku has a certain thing that you just do not do to her.

She had never been a privileged person, growing up the hard way. No parents, no home… no problem, at least in her book. But money wasn't something she'd ever had a lot of. It wasn't because she was bad with it. On the contrary, she was just about the most financially frugal person alive. No, she just never had the chance to accumulate any amount worth mentioning.

It therefore followed that she was rather… protective when it came to her cash. But maybe protective isn't really the best word. A more accurate descriptor would be "violently possessive."

In the book of Miku there are but two commandments.

One: don't mess with her friends.

Two: never, ever, EVER, under ANY circumstances whatsoever should you even consider touching her money if you value your life.

Some poor, uninformed soul had made the mistake of breaking the second commandment. There was only one solution: divine retribution.

So it was that with fire in her eyes and vengeance in her heart that Miku gave chase to the one foolish enough to rob her. Catching her, however, was proving to be another matter altogether.

The girl was fast. _Really_ fast. She weaved in and out of the crowds of passersby, and it was all Miku could do to keep her in sight. She knew that if she lost sight of her, then there was little chance she would ever see her wallet, or her precious money, ever again.

Suddenly, she saw the girl duck into an alleyway off the side of the main thoroughfare. Rounding the corner herself, she saw the girl had stopped, her path blocked by a tall fence. _Perfect _ she thought. _Nowhere to run._

"Now I've got you" she smiled, advancing menacingly down the alleyway.

Surprisingly, the girl did not look intimidated. She looked relaxed, almost smug, even. "That's what you think, blueberry-head! Len! Going up!"

"Roger that, sis! Ready when you are!" came a voice from the other side of the fence.

Miku barely had time to register the fact that this girl had seriously just referred to her as "blueberry-head" before her attention was demanded elsewhere. In front of her, the would-be thief turned around, jumped nearly six feet up, and then, impossibly, jumped _again_ in mid-air. She cleared the fence and disappeared over the top.

Miku simply stood there, dumbfounded. Did she just… double jump? What, was this a video game now? A video game where prepubescent girls can jump like basketball stars, and then do it again because some invisible player double-taps the "A" button? No. No way. Uh-uh. This was not even going to become a thing. This day was already crazy enough without having to put up with these shenanigans.

She'd show this thief that she wasn't the only one with mad hops. Throwing away every warning that Luka had given her (and presumably earning herself a sound beating about the head and neck later on), Miku took several steps forward before breaking into a sprint, focusing power in her legs as she did so. Several feet away from the wall, she planted both feet firmly on the ground and pushed off.

Like a coiled spring the energy propelled her up, up, up, and over the fence, barely clearing the top. Rolling in midair, she landed on her feet with an impact that shook the ground around her. Despite the quickly spreading numbness in her legs from hitting the ground so hard, she smiled triumphantly, a demonic glint in her eye. Now _that _was how you clear a fence. Nevermind the fact that she was still so sore from Luka's beating that every muscle in her body was now screaming at her in protest, at least she had looked cool doing it.

With a guttural roar, Miku once again tore after the thief and her brother, apparently named "Len," a boy with the same bright blonde hair as his sibling. Hearing her cry, the boy glanced behind him. He blanched when he saw Miku's form very quickly catching up to the two of them. "Rin! She's a U-Con!" he yelled, tugging at his sister's sleeve.

First blueberries and now this? Would the strange insults never stop? Miku applied an additional burst of speed. She was going to catch these two if it was the last thing she did.

The girl, now identified as "Rin," turned her head as well. Rather than look worried like her brother, however, she simply narrowed her eyes, as if looking at something distasteful. She glanced back at Len and the two nodded at each other.

Without warning the twins split apart, turned around, and actually started running back towards Miku. For her part, Miku was only surprised for a moment, pleased that they were going to make it so easy for her. Unfortunately for her, the two of them appeared to have other plans.

One on either side of the alleyway they strafed her. The boy looked to be concentrating, his eyes closed tightly. When he opened them, Miku realized she might be in for a rougher ride than she had imagined. Len's eyes glowed a bright yellow.

She fell into a defensive stance, warily watching both of her adversaries as they rapidly approached.

Suddenly, Len stopped, both of his hands glowing. At the same moment, Rin leapt up and landed on… nothing. She was running on thin air. As she closed the distance, her own hands glowed the same color as her brother's.

Miku couldn't see that there was anything supporting Rin as she ran. In the few seconds since the twins had turned around, she had only realized they were Vocaloids in the last three. This had to be some bizarre application of vocal power, but she had never seen or heard of anything like it.

The two siblings didn't give her a chance to contemplate the issue. Rin leapt up as the energy surrounding her right hand sharpened to a point. Miku leapt backwards as she crashed down, the force of the impact leaving a hole in the concrete.

Miku countered by throwing a few energy blasts. As they streaked towards their target, however, Len's right hand glowed and her blasts impacted against an invisible surface. His left hand shone likewise, and this time Miku caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a small transparent panel, like a pane of glass, hovering horizontally in the air. Rin used it as a step to once again gain the height advantage and pressed her attack.

Miku feinted and spun around to deliver a hard right. Rin ducked underneath the punch and came forward, hooking her right elbow around Miku's left shoulder. Rotating her body she spun around and hooked her opposite elbow around Miku's neck. With a powerful pull she threw Miku to the ground, where she landed heavily on her back.

It was a lucky thing that Miku had learned to use the impact dissipation technique on the fly. It was the only thing that prevented her head from being smashed wide open. As things stood, it still sent her reeling and disrupted her internal melody. Despite her small size, Rin had some serious power in that lithe frame of hers.

She barely had time to roll out of the way as Rin's elbow came crashing down on the space her abdomen had just occupied. Her head still woozy from being slammed into the concrete, she threw a few weak energy bursts to give her time to recuperate. All of these were again blocked by more of the translucent barriers. She supposed by now that they were coming from Len, who had yet to actually join in the fight directly.

Rin ignored all of Miku's attempts of rebuttal and pressed her assault ruthlessly. Miku was forced into a dangerous back and forth of hand to hand combat, from which she was unable to gain the upper hand, thanks to the constant presence of Len's barriers and the pain from fighting through her recent injuries, which stymied her every endeavor at mustering any sort of counterattack. Every time a punch would have connected, it instead encountered another wall. All of her vocal energy bursts met a similar fate.

This was getting her nowhere. She needed some breathing room so she could refocus and get her head to stop pounding. The only music she could still hear was the ever present undertone of the impact dissipation, its notes crackling and breaking as she struggled to maintain concentration. It was clear, however, that Rin didn't intend to give her an opening. If that was the case, she was going to have to create her own.

She turned completely around and ran in the opposite direction, back towards the fence she had leapt over. Predictably, Rin gave chase, Len summoning a series of floating platforms for her to run on.

_That's it, chase me you little brat_ she thought to herself. She prayed that this worked. If she messed it up she was going to be in a world of hurt. It had caught Luka off-guard, she only hoped Rin wouldn't see through it. Chancing a glance behind her, she noted with satisfaction that Rin was still sprinting in mid-air, nearly two feet off the ground. Good. She needed that height for this to work.

The wooden fence loomed large in front of her. Even so, she didn't slow down. Mustering what energy she could, she jumped.

Twisting around in mid-air so that she was facing backwards, her feet met the wooden surface. Her aching muscles screaming in protest, she propelled herself off of the wall as hard as she could, directly at Rin, who was still moving at full speed. The wood splintered under the force of her kicking off.

As Miku had hoped, Rin's momentum prevented her from moving out of the way. She tackled the girl right out of the air, her shoulder driving into Rin's stomach. They both fell to the ground, Miku on top. As they landed she rolled through, somersaulting back into a run and leaving Rin gasping and wheezing in the middle of the alley.

Len, who had followed his sister when she pursued Miku, now found himself directly in the path of her charge. In a panic, he threw up a wall big enough to shield the entirety of his body.

However, without the distraction provided by Rin's constant barrage of attacks, it afforded Miku the chance to gain some much-needed focus. These walls kept getting in her way at every turn; it was time to fix that. These were the two who thought they could get away with stealing her money! They had no right! She was going to teach them a lesson they would never forget!

She restarted the symphony inside her, letting the music flow and twist, magnifying her energy. Her anger was the conductor, and her body the orchestra. She danced on waves of purest sound and melody as she built up as much power as she could into a single punch. Her fist shook with the effort of holding it back.

As she reached the shield, she pulled her arm back, and with an almighty cry, smashed it as hard as she could into the vocal wall.

A shockwave emanated from the point of impact as tremors ran through the transparent surface. Len's face was a mask of physical pain as he fought to maintain his defense, his glowing eyes clenched shut in concentration. In the end, however, the strain proved too much; the barrier shook, cracked, and finally shattered, the shards dissipating as they broke apart.

Miku was far from done, though, as her punch traveled the remaining distance to her real target. Opening her fist, she released the rest of the energy, hitting Len squarely in the chest. The blast sent him flying backwards nearly twenty feet, before crashing into a collection of garbage cans and trash bags.

"LEN!" bellowed a voice behind her. Miku spun around. Rin was struggling back to her feet. Something was different in her. Her shoulders heaved with heavy breaths, her eyes burned with rage. Her aura crackled and shimmered as she regained her vertical base. "You damn government scum!" she screamed, taking a few shaky steps forward. "First you come to our town and take our friends, and now you send your goons to ferret out the ones who wouldn't go quietly! You make me SICK!" she spat the last word with no small amount of venom.

"Government?" said Miku, puzzled. "I don't know who you think you're talking to, but I'm not-"

"Shut up!" Rin shouted. "I don't want to hear any of your excuses! You came to _our_ town, now I'm going to show you _why_ it's ours."

Before Miku could protest further, Rin once again charged forward. Without the aid of Len's platforms, she no longer had the advantage of height, but her ferocity more than made up for it. She was a tidal wave, and when she broke on Miku's shore, it was like a tsunami hitting.

Rin's hands glowed with her power, the energy sharpening until her fists were more akin to spearpoints. Miku ducked and weaved. She didn't know what would happen if one of those blows connected, but considering Rin had punched a hole into solid concrete before? She imagined the end result couldn't be pretty.

As the fight wore on, neither participant giving any ground, Rin's aggressiveness only seemed to increase, and she began interspersing her punches and kicks with several impassioned outbursts.

"You jackasses don't even care!" she yelled. "It doesn't matter how many people you hurt, so long as you can save your own backsides!"

As she spoke, her assault ratcheted up another notch, and Miku was forced onto the defensive. She backed up, deflecting strike after bone-crushing strike, as Rin continued her tirade.

"It wasn't enough when the army swooped in and started snatching up Vocaloids left and right? Now they send you U-Cons to ferret out the ones they couldn't find! You're despicable! You stole my friends, took my town, and now you attack my brother! I HATE YOU!"

"Do you ever shut up!?" Miku screamed back as she backed up, struggling to not get speared by one of Rin's punches. "If you would just listen to me- !"

But Rin would not be stopped. Her rage continued to build on itself until she was nothing more than a frenzied beast, her eyes blazing and her power growing by the second. The confrontation finally got too hot for Miku's bruised body to handle, and she rolled to the side to get some space. She threw several powerful bursts of energy, but was shocked when Rin simply swatted them aside.

Letting out a bellow like an enraged animal, Rin's aura suddenly doubled in size and she leapt forward, both arms extended in front of her, clearly intent on skewering her blueberry-headed foe. At the same time, Miku charged a powerful blast in her hands and put them up to blow the girl away. What happened in the next instant occurred faster than either party could register.

With a sound like a thunderclap and bright pink flash, Luka appeared between them, in the path of both fighters' aggression. Her left arm went up, her right arm down, catching the brunt of both attacks and redirecting them.

Miku's blast was deflected away, where it arced wide and blew a sizeable hole in the fence she had jumped earlier. Under different circumstances, she might have wondered why she didn't just do that in the first place.

Rin's double spear was likewise interrupted as a hand connected with her arms and forced them down, where they impaled into the ground, leaving a considerable crater that surely would have gone straight through Miku had it connected.

Luka's eyes blazed as her pulsing energy began to cause the black dye in her hair to dissolve, revealing spots of her natural pink underneath. In one hand was Miku's wrist, in the other, Rin's. When she spoke, it was with ultimate authority, and the thought of non-compliance did not occur to either of the quarreling young girls.

"OH! I am going to have words with you later!" she hissed, fixing her burning gaze on her protégé. "There is a _reason_ we don't use our powers in public!" she grabbed Miku's head and turned it 90 degrees to the left. A small crowd had gathered at the end of the alleyway, attracted by all the commotion. The onlookers spoke to each other in hushed tones, their expressions frightened. One of them recorded the incident on his cell phone camera. To the side, Len carefully extracted himself from the pile of trash Miku had blasted him into.

"But first!" she said, fixing her glare instead on Rin. "We need to get out of here; preferably in the fastest way possible!"

Rin simply gulped and nodded. In a shaky voice, she spoke to Len. "L-L-Len? Suddenly I feel like maybe these two aren't U-Cons after all." Len only nodded hurriedly in response.

"Good, we're all on the same page then" said Luka. "Now, not to be presumptuous, but you two seem like the type that might know their way around the less… ah, _reputable_ parts of a city such as this. Care to lead to lead the way?"

Both twins nodded in unison.

"Oh, but first…" said Luka, turning her attention to the crowd. She raised one finger and the onlookers shrank back a bit. A small ball of light erupted from her fingertip and streaked down the alleyway. The man recording the scene jumped in surprise when his phone exploded.

"Now if you would be so kind, perhaps we could get to somewhere less public?" She inclined her head at Len.

He looked at his sister, as if seeking confirmation. She simply gave him a confused look and shrugged as if to say "Better do what she says."

Reaching into his pocket, Len extracted a few small orbs. Tossing them in the direction of the alley's exit, they burst upon contacting the ground, generous clouds of obscuring smoke billowing forth from the broken shells. When the haze cleared, the individuals were gone.

~V~

As the crowd around her began to disperse, a malicious smile tugged at the corners of Ruko Yokune's mouth.

_Found you._

~V~

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

Yes! It's finally done! I love the feeling of new chapters, don't you? They're so fresh and they smell so nice. Well ok, not really, but if they had a smell it would probably be a nice one.

Anyways! I had so much fun writing this chapter. I've been waiting to introduce Rin and Len for a while now, as I love the characterization I've picked out for the two of them. If you couldn't tell, Rin is offense, Len is defense. A sort of sword and shield motif I've had in mind for their fighting style as well as their personalities, but you'll see more of that later on, I promise!

If anyone is wondering, Lucentian is a language that I created, and it actually has rules and everything. It is a fully functional language and it is REALLY fun to speak, as I have found out while brainstorming this chapter. I based it on Spanish and Japanese, and a full explanation may be forthcoming at a later date.

I also particularly enjoyed writing the comedic bits at the beginning of this one. On an interesting note, that is actual calculus that Luka is spouting, and I assure you the terminology is correct. And they say you don't use that stuff after high school, ha!

Also, I totally flip tails side up coins over before I pick them up. Bad juju is no laughing matter.

In regards to plot, this is the first chapter of the second major arc of the story. Chapter 11 concluded the first arc with Miku discovering her purpose, which was really the point of it all. In this next arc you'll see a lot more of the world I've constructed for this story because I love world building! Also, new antagonists as well as old ones will take up a more prominent role as the story progresses, as well as new friends and allies. You'll get a better idea of the impact the removal of Vocaloids has had on the country as a whole, as well as get to know supporters of both sides of the issue. You haven't seen the last of the 'Normals Against Vocaloid Tyranny."

Plus, Teto! That lovable scamp will be making her triumphant return in chapter 14. Chapter 13 will focus on Gumi, and what happened to her after the line went dead and was left to fend for herself. Fans of the Shooting Star should await the next installment of Gumi's story with baited breath, but that's all I'll say on the matter ;)

Before we get to the music, I must apologize. I said to expect this chapter before the end of August, but the spirits of darkness (Read: procrastination) have been pestering me lately. I am saying this now: If I don't have chapter 13 out by the end of October, you have every right to yell horrible insults at me while I cry in the corner.

Music time! There are some good ones this time through, but then again, I say that about every chapter!

"Traveler" – This song represents Miku and Luka leaving the homestead and traveling away. I couldn't find an English version so I've got no idea what the lyrics are, but if the title is any indication, it's about traveling, which is pretty much what I was going for XD.

Link to youtube video: watch?v=EhXDTQAsY2M

Link to original video: .jp/watch/sm8103124#_=_

"Skyscraper" – The theme song for Clonderwell city. It is a city oppressed. The people are afraid, the truth is subject to interpretation, and only a select few still have the will to oppose those who would keep them down. It paints a dark picture, for sure, but perhaps with the arrival of our heroine, brighter days are on the horizon.

Link to subbed youtube video: watch?v=v0ikUnqmA_c

"Adolescence" – This duet with Rin and Len was just perfect inspiration for a fight scene, and it was one of the songs that originally inspired me to write this fic in the first place. It's about growing up, and, as we will see in the future, the twins have had to do plenty of growing up in their short lifetimes. If the lyrics provide any hints of incest, please ignore them. Rin and Len are not like that.

Link to subbed youtube video: watch?v=Q_qoAKd_eqA

Link to original video: .jp/watch/sm5666270

That's it for this update! As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

Well, I'm beat. I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of Vocal Vision! Please review if you feel so inclined and pass the word on! Also, nothing is confirmed at this point, but I am looking into having cover art commissioned for this story. I cannot even describe how amazing that would be.

But until then, this AnarchySong signing off!


	13. Sugary Sweet! Gumi Alone and Afraid!

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

The full title for this chapter is "Sugary Sweet! Gumi Alone and Afraid!" I hope you enjoy it!

**********************************Chapter 13***********************************

Gumi Megpoid was terrified.

But it was probably safe to say that she was a fair bit past just simply "terrified" at this point. She was practically scared out of her wits.

After passing a virtually sleepless night hiding in a clump of bushes on the roadside, she was twitchy, paranoid, and suspicious of everything. She jumped at every small movement or sound. Even the feather light brush of a stray leaf or a gust of wind induced in her a soul-gripping terror that turned her blood to ice, and nearly sent her heart into palpitations. She was cold, exhausted, scared, and alone.

If she had to guess, she would put the time at somewhere around 7AM. The morning sun had only recently peeked over the edge of the horizon, and though it brought with it a warm new day, its rays carried no comfort for Gumi.

The events of the previous day had placed her into a rather troublesome position, to put it lightly. She was stranded away from home with nothing more than what she could carry in her shoulder bag. The bag in question held only a few tools, a blanket, the remains of her walkie, and "The Concession," which she had gladly removed after escaping town.

The bag currently lay open at her feet, its contents littered about her. She had the blanket draped about her shoulders to offer what protection it could from the crisp morning air and the damp chill of the dewy grass. In her hands she held what was left of the walkie.

The bits of metal and shards of plastic lay there in her palms, completely useless. Her technical mind read off the things that were wrong with the device, while the emotional part of her tried in vain to fully comprehend exactly what it meant.

The battery was still intact, but that was about it. The main circuit board had been snapped cleanly in half, rendering it completely useless. Any hopes she had entertained of repairing the device evaporated the instant she had first inspected the damage. Perhaps if she had access to the proper tools and materials she would have been able to build a new one, but in her current situation it was out of the question.

Not to mention the time it would take. The walkie had taken her three weeks to build in the first place. It was also technically illegal, since it hijacked the satellite signals of several phone companies and one communications conglomerate in order to connect to Miku's.

In hindsight, she couldn't imagine why she didn't consider just getting Miku a regular cell phone instead. Not really being "phones" in the regular sense of the word, her creations didn't have numbers that could be called. They were only capable of talking directly to one another. She supposed that it was because she had wanted to make something for Miku to remember her by. What sentimental value did a plain old cell phone have?

She couldn't have guessed at the trouble that decision would land her in down the road. Now she was stuck out here with the army looking for her, hardly any supplies, and no means whatsoever of contacting her only hope of salvation.

For the first time in her life, Gumi was completely, totally, utterly alone.

But she was also very hungry, and it was this that finally drove her out of hiding. Packing up her bag again, she emerged from the bushes and glanced either way down the road. She didn't even know where she was. How far had she come after leaving town? Ten miles? Fifty? Gumi couldn't even begin to hazard a guess. In the rush of the previous day's events she hadn't even attempted to keep track of where she was going. The only thought on her mind had been to put as much distance as possible between herself and the soldiers who would no doubt be pursuing her by now.

Her stomach rumbled, making sure its presence was felt. Though she very much wished to remain hidden, she knew that she didn't really have much of a choice in this situation. She had to eat sometime after all.

She hitched her bag up on her shoulder and hopped back onto her scooter. That was another reason for her to seek civilization soon. Her electric scooter wouldn't last forever without a recharge, and there certainly weren't any wall sockets out here. Gumi silently wished that rocks had power cells.

As she rode, she found it very hard to concentrate on the road in front of her due to her lack of rest. Her vision blurred slightly every few seconds, and she was constantly blinking to try and soothe her irritated eyes.

Her limbs also felt heavy and cumbersome. Her shoulders sagged and her neck ached from where her pack's strap was digging into it. Altogether she was in the worst shape of her life. She couldn't recall a time when she had been more miserable than she was right then.

In her stupor she almost missed the sign on the side of the road. Glancing up, she managed to make out the words "Harmony – Two Miles" before she passed by.

Well, at least she would be able to get something to eat. _Provided the army isn't already there waiting for me… _she thought. She'd never heard of this town before. That didn't really surprise her, though, considering she hadn't exactly done a lot of traveling in her life. She briefly bemoaned her lack of experience and chided herself for being such a reclusive shut-in.

Her mind wandered as her thoughts turned to Miku. What would she be doing right now? If she knew her best friend at all, she had probably thrown some sort of fit when their call was interrupted. Obviously she would have assumed that Gumi had been captured. But, if that was the case, what would Miku do next?

The answer to that was just as obvious. Miku would come looking for her, of course. She wouldn't rest until she ensured that Gumi had been rescued.

Only this time Gumi wasn't really in a situation that Miku _could_ rescue her from. There were no mysterious enemies to defeat, no clandestine battle to be fought, no sort of noble heroics that Miku could employ to help her. She wasn't imprisoned, she was lost, and in her mind, that was infinitely worse.

Thusly lost in thought, she almost didn't notice that she had already arrived in Harmony. She was startled out of her reverie by the sound of a car horn blaring at her, and she barely had time to realize that she had almost been run over after blowing through a stop sign.

"Hey, kid! Watch where you're going, yeah?" came an angry shout from the window of the aforementioned automobile. "It ain't gonna be my fault when you end up a stain on the road!"

Gumi quickly voiced her apologies and excused herself. She got off the road and moved to the sidewalk before dismounting her scooter and walking alongside it instead. In the state she was in, driving of any sort was probably a bad idea.

She slowly made her way the rest of the distance into the town proper, if it could really be called that. Harmony appeared to be nothing more than a small rural community. Its main street consisted of only a scant few shops and establishments. A short ways down the main thoroughfare she could see the town hall, which apparently also served as the fire department and post office as well.

At the far end of the road, a lone gas station stood across the street from what Gumi assumed constituted a town park, if that title could really be applied here. A dilapidated swing set and rusting merry-go-round stood amidst scraggly, overgrown grass. A few benches that looked as if they hadn't been touched in years stood near the edge.

The rest of the town fared little better, most of the buildings looking as if they had been standing far past their recommended lifespans. But it hardly felt unwelcoming. To her left a brightly painted (if flaking) flower shop stood, its myriad bouquets and displays putting off an air of warmth and joy. Next door, a kindly-looking old man with a broom and a paper hat was sweeping the sidewalk in preparation for the day's business.

Though it looked run down, the town gave off a definite feeling of, well, harmony. The old buildings, rather than detract from the tranquility of the place, gave it a lived-in feeling, as if it was somewhere that anyone was welcome.

Gumi hoped very sincerely that this was indeed the case.

A sign in the window of a small diner proudly stated the breakfast specials being offered. The glimpse Gumi caught of the interior showed cozy-looking booth seats made of leather and a 50s style bar complete with rotating stools. Several of the tables were already occupied despite the early hour. Her stomach rumbled again at the sight of the plates of food in front of many of the customers.

The light tinkling of a bell signaled Gumi's entrance into the establishment. Instantly her nostrils were assaulted with the delicious smells of home cooking. She picked out cinnamon rolls and hash browns and… dear lord was that bacon? God, she hoped it was bacon.

"Be with ya' in a minute, sugar!" came a melodious voice from behind the counter. A moment later, a motherly-looking woman with meticulously styled curly blonde hair came into view. She was wearing the standard waitress' outfit complete with a pencil tucked neatly behind her ear and a notepad in one hand, the picture of stereotypicality.

"Welcome to Sweet Ann's!" she said sweetly. "Sit anywhere ya' like. Ah'll be right with- Oh mah _stars_!"

With a loud gasp the woman dropped her notepad and in an instant was in Gumi's face, worriedly looking at her from every angle and making small noises of distress. "Mah goodness! What happened, sweetie? Ya' look like death warmed over!"

Gumi was startled by the woman's sudden proximity. She took a step backwards instinctively. What on earth was going on? Was it normal for a complete stranger to get this close? Gumi's cheeks turned red under the intense scrutiny. She was beginning to feel decidedly uncomfortable. The woman bore down on her as she backed up, still examining her thoroughly. This continued until Gumi finally felt herself bump into the wall. At last she found her voice again and managed to squeak out:

"Uh… M-Ma'am? I don't mean to be rude but… You're a bit c-close…"

The woman's eyes went wide as she realized just how nonexistent Gumi's personal bubble had become. She gasped and retreated to a more respectable distance.

"Oh, ah'm sorry, sugar. Ya'll just gave me a right scare, walkin' in here lookin' like ya' came out the back end of a hay baler!"

"I'm sorry, I don't think I follow…" said Gumi, confused.

"Haven't ya' seen yerself?" asked the woman. She dug through her pocket for a moment before pulling out a small compact with a mirror. She handed it to Gumi. "Just take a look."

Taking the small mirror, she held it up and gazed at her reflection. At first she nearly failed to recognize herself through the mask of the wayward ghost that stared back.

Her hair was in a sorry state. It stuck out in every conceivable direction and was cluttered with leaves, small twigs, and even a small piece of a fern caught beneath the band of her goggles. Her face was pale and cold-looking, with smudges of dirt on her cheeks and chin as well as a shallow cut over her left eye.

Looking down at herself, she inspected the damage to the rest of her person. Her clothes had fared no better, covered with stains and riddled with rips and tears as they were from her impromptu night spent in hiding. Her shorts were frayed and tattered, and were grass stained so badly she doubted she would ever get the green out, no matter how many times she washed them.

She was covered head to toe in scratches and bruises, and her hands were caked with dirt. She had never really been one to obsess over fashion or glamour, but even she had a problem with her nails being in _this_ bad of a condition.

Gumi realized she probably should have foreseen something like this. Of course she looked like hell, having been through it the previous day. Looking back up into the concerned face of the waitress in front of her, Gumi gave a halfhearted chuckle and handed the mirror back to her.

"Eheh… um… It might have been a bit of a rough night…" she said, scratching the back of her head.

"Oh sugar, 'a rough night' looks like it don't even come close!" the woman replied. Suddenly, her expression hardened and a resolute look settled across her face. "Right, you go get yerself washed up a bit and then we'll see about gettin' some nourishment in ya'."

Gumi's face brightened instantly at the prospect of food, but immediately fell again. She was still hesitant. She _was_ a Vocaloid on the run, after all, and she wasn't sure if it was wise to hang around in one place for too long. If someone happened to recognize her, no matter how slim the odds, it most likely wouldn't work out in her favor.

"Oh, I couldn't impose-" she began, but the woman cut her off almost immediately.

"Ah ah. Ah ain't hearin' none of that now. 'Round here we help out those in need, and ya'll are no exception." She pointed towards a hallway on her right. "There's a washroom down there. Ya'll go get yerself cleaned up and after that ya' can tell me all about this 'rough night' o' yers."

Gumi quailed under the onslaught of kindness. The woman's motherly presence was undeniable. Muttering a quiet "yes ma'am", she marched herself straight down to the bathroom indicated.

The interior was nothing fancy. Just the same kind of small, unisex toilet one usually finds at small establishments. It smelled strongly of bleach and chemicals, and was lit by a single, unadorned light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

Gumi felt that she had never seen a more welcoming lavatory in all her life.

She had never really appreciated the luxury of hot water until this moment. She spent several minutes cleansing herself of the various accumulations of the previous day's activities, enjoying every second of warm, liquid bliss. She picked twigs and other detritus from her hair, doing what she could to fix the many cowlicks and split ends.

Unfortunately there was really nothing that could be done about her clothes. The set she was wearing was pretty much destroyed beyond hope of recovery, barring some act of God… or a very talented seamstress. She sighed. That had been her favorite shirt. Chalk one more atrocity up to whatever dark forces had the country in this state of chaos.

She emerged after several minutes, looking significantly better than when she had gone in. Her hair was still far from perfect, and she suspected that a real shower would be needed before she could actually do anything about it. She put it out of her mind, however, as the waitress' voice once again met her ears.

"Well, would ya' look at that" she said with a smile. "Feelin' better, sugar?"

Gumi smiled in spite of herself. "Much better, thank you." Her smile slackened just a little. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I really do need to-"

Once again she was cut off. "Now ah thought ah told ya' ah wasn't goin' ta hear none a' that" said the woman sternly. "Now come sit yerself down and we'll get ya' a proper meal."

"But-" Gumi began.

"No buts!" the waitress interrupted firmly. "The only thing yer butt should be doin' right now is sittin', missy!"

Without the will or the courage to disagree, Gumi did as she was told and sat down at the counter. The woman smiled.

"There" she said. "Now what do ya' like?"

"Ma'am…" Gumi tried again to protest. "I hardly have any money for-"

"That ain't an issue" she interjected. "On the house. Mah treat."

"But-"

"Sugar, if money makes the world go 'round then it can stop today for all ah'm concerned about it. Now are ya' gonna' order something or am ah gonna' have ta' do it for ya'?"

Gumi finally relented. The woman was persistent, that was for sure. Picking up a menu, she glanced through it for a few seconds. It all looked delicious, but how was she supposed to decide with so many different-

Oh God.

There, right there.

Her mind instantly made itself up. On the page in front of her was a picture of the most amazing omelet she had ever laid eyes on. "The Triple Bacon Cheddar Shellshocker" read the caption. The name hardly mattered to her. It could have been called anything for all she cared.

"I'll have that" she said without fanfare, jabbing her finger into the picture. A fire burned in her eyes.

The waitress smiled and turned around, cupping her hands to her mouth. "AL! One shellshocker on the double! And make it a big'un!"

A brown haired man appeared behind the order-up window. He had a powerful jaw and prominent browline, and was currently wearing a paper hat not unlike the one she had seen on the old man across the street. A cocky-looking grin adorned his face.

"You got it Ann! One shellshocker comin' up!"

Ann turned back to Gumi, still smiling that good-natured smile of hers. "There now, was that really so hard?"

"Ann?" said Gumi questioningly. "Like the Ann from the name of the restaurant?"

"One and the same" she replied proudly. "This here establishment is the product of mah own blood, sweat, n' tears. Ah've been the proprietor of Sweet Ann's since ah founded it over 20 years ago. But this conversation ain't about me, sugar. Now why don't ya' go ahead and tell me what happened to ya' to get ya' in such a sorry-lookin' state."

Gumi began to sweat. She had never been a good liar, but there was absolutely no way that she could tell this woman the truth. She doubted that one restauranteer's kindness would extend to a fugitive. Her mind worked furiously, trying to come up with a passable fabrication, but nothing presented itself. In a panic she blurted out the first thing which came to mind…

"I… I'm… uh… on the run!"

…which in some twisted act of self-incrimination just so happened to be the truth. Gumi did a mental facepalm.

Needless to say, Ann looked surprised to hear this. "On the run?" she inquired. "Now what on earth could a sweet little thing like you possibly be on the run from?"

Gumi floundered around in her head for a response.

"I'm on the run from… the police!" she said.

A second time her own brain betrayed her. Well ok, technically it was the military she was running from, but the police would probably take her too. She mentally facepalmed with both hands, wondering how she could be this bad at telling a simple lie.

"The police?!" Ann replied, shocked. "Heavens, girl! Whatever for?!"

Her eye twitched. She was about to give herself an aneurysm with all this stress. "I… I stole a… car?" she said hesitantly. "Yeah! That's it! A car! I'm a car thief. Heheh… heh…"

In her mind, Gumi found a post and banged her head against it repeatedly. Stupid. Thud. Stupid. Thud. Stupid. Thud.

Ann smirked with a knowing smile. She crossed her arms and replied: "Well ah hope it don't bruise yer ego none when ah say ya' don't particularly strike me as the car stealin' type, sugar."

Gumi gave Ann her best convincing smile. Given the circumstances, the attempt was pretty good, which is to say that it looked completely fake and not convincing at all. Her smile cracked and broke as her shoulders slumped, and she rested her forehead on the countertop.

"Ok look" she said, sighing slightly. "The truth is… I can't tell you why I'm on the run. It's not something that I can just share with anyone. Suffice it to say that it's… not something good. I'm sorry, I really can't go into any more detail than that, but I will say this: I have a very good reason for it."

Ann gave her a searching, appraising look. Her eyes scanned every contour of Gumi's face, as if looking for the slightest trace of insincerity. After several moments, however, she apparently found none as her expression softened and her smile returned, every bit as genial as it had been before.

"Well alright then, sugar" she said. "Ah suppose if ya' give it ta' me like that ah can't really press the issue, now can ah?"

Gumi's gratefulness was evident in her eyes. "Thank you" she said. "I wish I could tell you, I really do. You're being so kind to me and I can't do anything to repay you."

"Oh, ya' don't have to repay anythin'" said Ann. "When ya' get right down to it yer just a sweet girl in need of a helpin' hand. If ah turned ya' away just because a' somethin' ya' might be, t'would feel a sin."

"But that's precisely why you shouldn't be nice to me!" said Gumi. "What if I really was a car thief or something equally dangerous?"

"Sugar, please. Ah've been around the sun enough times to know a criminal when ah see one. If you're a car thief then ah'm a circus monkey, and ah don't see no tail comin' out mah backside."

Gumi chuckled a bit in spite of herself. The idea of her being a car thief, or any kind of criminal for that matter, was absolutely ridiculous. No sane individual would finger her as the culprit for anything.

"I guess I don't really come across as a criminal, do I?" said Gumi, with a smile.

"No, ya' don't" replied Ann. "In fact, ya' don't come across as-"

But whatever Gumi did not come across as was to forever remain a mystery. At that moment, the pair was interrupted as the front door of the restaurant burst open with a crash and a loud, obnoxious female voice called out:

"GOOD MORNING ANN AND VARIOUS ASSEMBLED OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM I MAY OR MAY NOT BE ACQUAINTED!"

Gumi nearly fell out of her chair. The sheer volume of the declaration was almost enough to make her ears bleed. Turning around quickly, she took in the individual now standing in the doorway.

To call her "unusual" would be a grievous understatement. The woman was wearing what could only be described as… actually, Gumi really couldn't think of an adequate description for it. The red and blue striped gloves on her hands and matching stockings were the first thing to stick out. She also had a definite star motif going on. Gumi counted at least five that she could see right off the bat, then noted two more as she noticed the earmuffs.

Surprisingly, Gumi seemed to be the only one that was even remotely fazed by the appearance of this crazy woman. Every single other occupant of the restaurant didn't so much as bat an eyelash. A few of the diners even returned her greeting with a slight nod or a muttered "good morning."

"Good morning Miki…" Ann said with a sigh.

Miki pouted a bit. "Ann, I must request that you not call me by my real name while we are in public. If someone were to discover my secret identity there could be… consequences." She said "consequences" with a conspiratorial shifty-eyed glance to either side, but considering that she had just mentioned her secret identity loud enough for the entire room to hear, the proverbial jig was just about up at this point.

"Sorry…" she said with an eye-roll. "Good mornin' Shootin' Star…"

"Better" replied Miki/Shooting Star. "Now, as to why… I'm… here…" she trailed off as her gaze fell on Gumi. Her eyes widened and she jumped back several feet.

"NEW PERSON! NEW PERSON! Nobody told me there was a new person! Why was I not informed about the new person!?" she shrieked as she pointed a shaking finger at a now very confused Gumi.

"I… I… Um… hi?" Gumi ventured tentatively.

Miki said nothing. It was as if she had become a statue, locked in place with her finger still raised in horrified acknowledgement. The only thing that indicated she was still alive was her mouth, which was working furiously, and soundlessly, as it tried to produce some sort of coherent speech.

But it seemed coherent speech, as it were, was not forthcoming. After several seconds of silence a strange sound met Gumi's ears. It took a moment to realize that it was coming from the statue, er… woman, in front of her.

It began as a quiet droning, like the buzz of a mosquito, gradually increasing in volume until it became a high pitched whining sound. If asked to compare it to something, one would likely imagine the cry of some terrible eldritch horror in its death throes. Miki was still frozen in place, but the keening wail continued to issue from her throat. Amazingly, the restaurants other occupants were still acting as if nothing strange were happening, continuing to eat their meals and read their papers while the awful noise persisted.

"Oh for heaven's sake" said Ann exasperatedly. "Ah swear you do this every time!" she looked at Gumi. "Now sugar, ya'll just sit tight. Ah'll have her sorted out in a jiffy."

Walking around the counter, she approached Miki like one approaches a puppy that made a mess on the carpet. She marched directly up to her before stopping and turning her head around to face Gumi. She almost had to shout in order to be heard over the banshee's scream.

"Don't worry, this is completely safe!"

Gumi tilted her head questioningly. "Safe? What do you mean? Why would it not-"

Without warning Ann drew her arm back as far as it would go, and let fly with a monstrous haymaker that connected directly with Miki's jaw. The wailing stopped instantly as the girl was sent careening head over heels down the aisle between the counter and some booths.

"Ahh! What!? Why did you- _HOW _did you-!?" sputtered Gumi in surprise. She jumped up from her seat and tried to rush to where the erstwhile air raid siren had landed, but Ann stopped her.

"Just give 'er a sec, sugar. Watch" she said, her eyes not leaving Miki.

For a few moments there was no movement, then all at once Miki let out a loud gasp and jumped to her feet. Her eyes slowly refocused as she reoriented herself.

"Thank you, Ann" she said, rubbing her cheek. "I don't know what came over me."

"Ah do" Ann deadpanned. "After all, it ain't like you do this every other day or somethin'…"

Miki grinned sheepishly. "Yes, well… I keep telling you that I must be informed when new occupants enter the town, so as to be prepared."

"And ah keep tellin' ya'll that there ain't no way ah could reasonably tell ya' 'bout everyone who comes in! It just ain't possible!" said Ann, with her hands on her hips. "Now, ah think you owe this sweet girl here an apology for scarin' her half to death."

"More… confused than scared, really" said Gumi quietly.

Miki seemed not to listen (or maybe she just didn't care). She walked straight up to Gumi and leaned in very close, so much so that their noses were almost touching. Gumi leaned backwards in spite of herself. What was it with people invading her personal space today? Shooting Star narrowed her eyes and gave Gumi's entire face a piercing look before drawing back and smiling broadly.

"Greetings girl with green hair!" she said. "I apologize for my slight overreaction, but we superheroes can't be too careful, you know!"

"Slight overreaction mah left foot…" said Ann out of the corner of her mouth. "Scares off half mah business this one." She directed her next words at Shooting Star. "And ah hardly think "girl with green hair" is a proper way ta' say hello. Miki, ("Shooting Star", she corrected again. Ann shushed her) this is…" she paused as a blank look suddenly crossed her face. After a moment, she chuckled weakly.

"Well ain't that just the darndest thing. Ah don't know yer name either, sugar."

Gumi was so far past confused at this point, she decided that it would just be better to play along. "Gumi" she said. "My name is Gumi."

"Greetings Gumi!" said Shooting Star a second time. "I am Shooting Star! The explosive defender of justice." She said it so easily and without a hint of awkwardness that it took Gumi a moment to process exactly what had been said.

"Nice to meet- wait, explosive?"

"defender of justice, yes" she said. "Please disregard any other names you may have heard applied to me recently, as they are personal and not for the ears of the common citizen."

"Order up!" came the voice of Al as he stuck his head into the window again. "One shellsho- Oh good mornin' Miki, I thought I heard ya' out here."

"As stated previously, please disregard such names as that" she said without missing a beat.

"Oh are ya' still on about that "secret identity" thing?" said Al, with a smile. He looked at Gumi. "Don't let the way she talks fool ya'. This one's as sweet as they come. I should know."

Shooting Star blushed furiously, seemingly quite embarrassed by Al's statement. "A-Al! I hardly think that's appropriate! I would much prefer if you would refrain from such subject matter!"

"Aw, come on Miki, I was only teasin'!" he said with a wink, before placing a plate of food in the window and disappearing once again.

Miki threw her hands up in exasperation. "Alright fine! Let's just everyone go ahead and toss my meticulously crafted superhero persona out the window in front of a complete stranger! That sounds like a wonderful idea!"

"Oh hush you" said Ann. "No need ta' get yerself all riled up."

Miki sat down in the nearest empty booth with a 'hmph' and crossed her arms. She looked out the window and brooded.

"Is… she ok?" asked Gumi.

"Don't ya'll worry none 'bout that one. Give 'er a few minutes, she'll come around" said Ann, turning and walking back around the counter. She grabbed the plate that Al had left in the window and put it down in front of where Gumi had been sitting. "In the meantime, how 'bout ya' just enjoy?"

The creation sitting on the plate was a thing of pure beauty. Never in her life had Gumi seen something so perfect. She imagined that it sparkled slightly in the early morning sun pouring through the windows.

She approached reverently, as if afraid that the meal might get spooked and run off if she frightened it. Very carefully, without taking her eyes off of the majestic omelet in front of her, Gumi sat back down. All thoughts of the previous few minutes were momentarily forgotten as she eyed it with anticipation, awe, and respect.

"What're ya' waitin' for, sugar? It ain't like it's gonna bite- whoa!"

In the blink of an eye, Gumi grabbed a fork from a nearby place setting and all but attacked the plate in front of her. Ann drew her hands back, afraid that they might get sucked in if she got too close.

Suddenly realizing what she was doing, Gumi dropped the fork and brought her hands to her mouth, appalled. "Oh my. I'm so sorry" she said. "I don't know what came over me. I guess I was hungrier than I thought…"

Ann simply chuckled. "Well don't stop on mah account, sugar! I take eatin' like that as the highest compliment. Now you just go ahead and enjoy the rest o' that, I've got ta' tend ta' some things, ah_ do_ have a job ta' do after all."

The next few minutes for Gumi passed in delicious silence. She surprised herself when she actually managed to finish the entire thing, as absolutely mammoth as it was. For several precious moments, she was able to sit in the small diner and be at ease, simply enjoying her surroundings and forgetting temporarily about what lie ahead.

Her solace didn't last long. As she sat there, absorbing the pleasant atmosphere, her thoughts turned once again to her situation. What was she doing? These people were being so unconditionally kind to her, without knowing a single thing about her. Ann hadn't even known her name and yet she gave freely of herself.

A wave of guilt washed over her. She couldn't stay here. Just by sitting here she was putting all of them at risk. She would never be able to live with herself if something happened to them because of her. She looked down towards the end of the counter. Ann was standing there chatting with (presumably) a regular. She laughed heartily as they spoke animatedly.

Gumi smiled. She had never encountered such random kindness before. In such a dark world, it gave her hope to know that there were still people like Ann.

Her smile faded as a shadow passed over her eyes. She couldn't do it. She couldn't stay here any longer. These wonderful people didn't deserve to be tainted by the presence of someone like her. Someone marked.

Silently she dug her hand through one of her pockets and grabbed what little money she had before dropping it on the counter. Picking up her bag, she got up and turned to the door.

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

Gumi stopped short. Miki was staring at her from the booth she had sat down in. Her face had lost all of its previous humor, and she was leaning back against the window. Her expression betrayed no hint of emotion, indifferent.

"Yes" Gumi replied. "I really am very grateful to Ann for what she's done but… it's better if I don't stay here any longer." She took another step but Miki's voice stopped her again.

"You don't have to do it alone, you know."

"I'm… sorry?" she said.

"It's not easy for a Vocaloid in times like these. You should accept the help you're offered" said Miki, her eyes still locked on.

Gumi sputtered. "I… I'm not sure what you mean."

"Come off it" said Miki. "It's so obvious. Why else would a, what, 16, 17 year old girl be out on her own looking like that right now? Considering what happened yesterday, I'd be surprised if it were anything else."

"I…" she paused, unsure what to do. "I have to go…"

"You've gotten pretty popular you know" said Miki, slowly getting up from her seat. "I've been hearing all about you on my police scanner since yesterday afternoon. Teenage girl, green hair, goggles, riding a scooter. You've become quite the sensation after that little stunt you pulled."

Gumi was frozen in place. She didn't know how to react to this. How could Miki know about that?

"H-h-how-" she began shakily.

"How do I know?" Miki interrupted. "What? Did you think they were just going to forget about you? You get past them and that's it? Smooth sailing from here on out? Wrong. Take it from me, it's a hell of a lot harder than that."

Miki slowly sauntered up to where Gumi was standing. She leaned in close again, her voice lowering to a whisper.

"Did you think I dress up like an idiot and call myself 'Shooting Star' just for fun? I've been on the run a lot longer than you, kid, and for very different reasons, but in the end, we're in the same boat, you and I."

"You mean you're a Vocaloid too?" asked Gumi, her eyes wide.

"Is it so hard to believe?" Miki replied. "You're not the only one, you know. Do you even realize the chaos this country is in right now? Over the last few months I've been everywhere. It's ridiculous. People are scared out of their minds. Some places it's practically bedlam in the streets, and it's only going to get worse. After the last two days, I'm surprised the government hasn't declared martial law yet. I can only imagine what it's like in the cities."

Gumi didn't know what to say. She hadn't really considered the implications of the current situation past her own escape, but with what Miki was saying now… It sounded like nowhere was safe anymore.

Miki's expression was steel, unreadable. "And here you are thinking you're going to go it alone? That's sweet, it really is, but there's just no way."

She grabbed Gumi's head and turned it forcibly towards the end of the counter, where Ann was still chatting with the same customer.

"You see that woman there?" Miki said. "That's the greatest woman I've ever met. She's the kindest soul on the face of this planet. She doesn't give a damn about herself just so long as she's helping out others. She took me in when I had nowhere to go, and I owe her my life. Now, it's none of my business if you want to try and run away. But I'll be damned if I'm going to sit here and watch you throw her kindness by the wayside without even telling her to her face."

Gumi was taken aback by Miki's sudden intensity. Her eyes blazed with a righteous passion, and she never once took her gaze off of Gumi's face.

"If you're going to try and survive out there on your own, be my guest. Learn the hard way, like I did. But if you might think for one second that maybe there's more significance to someone's gestures of kindness, you'd realize that maybe you don't have to."

"W-w-what do you mean?" said Gumi, confused and slightly afraid at this point. As answer, Miki simply pointed back towards Ann.

"Tell her" she said. "I think you'll find that she might be more receptive to the idea than you think. Or…" she swung her arm around to point outside. "You can take your chances with them."

Gumi's eyes followed Miki's finger to where it pointed. Her heart leapt into her throat as she saw what was happening on the other side of the road. A jeep emblazoned with the army's insignia was parked directly across the street. A soldier was questioning the old man with the broom.

Gumi took several shaky steps back. She looked all around her. If that soldier decided to come in here, she was trapped. She couldn't get caught. She must not get caught! Above all else she had to stay away from the military.

Her pulse thundered in her ears as her adrenaline ran high. She couldn't think. It was all too much for her. How could so much have changed in such a small amount of time? Just days ago she had been sleeping in her own warm bed, and now here she was cowering in fear in some out of the way diner in a town she'd never even heard of.

But what could she do? Was there anywhere left to go? Her original plan was completely gone, every hope of meeting up with Miku shattered along with the walkie. What, then, could she possibly do? It occurred to her that what she needed now was time. Time to figure out where to go next, or if there was even anywhere to go, for that matter.

Miki was standing there, all but offering her a lifeline, but she was still hesitant to grab it. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know anything about these people, as kind as they seemed. Unfortunately, it was rapidly becoming apparent that she might not have much of a choice in the matter. The logical part of her brain told her to assess the situation further, while the rest of her screamed at her to take whatever chance Miki might be able to offer her. In the end, logic was the first to give.

Hey, it wasn't like logic had done much for her lately, right?

Her eyes flicked back and forth between Miki and the jeep across the street. She tried to weigh the pros and cons of each, but she knew that there was really only one possible decision to make.

Her options rapidly dwindling, she took the only course of action she could justify.

"Help me" she said, looking at Miki, her eyes pleading. Miki smiled slightly.

"Glad to see you've come around" she said. Not waiting for a response, she grabbed Gumi's arm and dragged her down to the end of the counter. At her approach, Ann looked up quizzically.

Several glances and tilts of the head were all that passed between the two, an entire unspoken conversation that only they were privy to. Ann glanced outside and her eyes widened. Looking back at Miki, she nodded, her expression hardening.

Suddenly she stood up taller and spoke in a loud voice. "Alright everyone, listen up! I'd like ya'll ta' know somethin'!"

Instantly every eye in the restaurant was on her. Ann grinned and spoke again. "Now then, it's very important that ya'll know that this girl" she pointed at Gumi, "is NOT a Vocaloid."

Gumi was speechless. Her eyes widened in fear. She cast her gaze about her in fear. They couldn't know! No one could know! She'd be…

But after a moment, Gumi realized that the only responses from the collective were nods of assent and affirmations.

"Make sure ya' tell everyone else" Ann continued. "We wouldn't want any… unsavory types gettin' the wrong idea, now would we?" Looking back at Gumi, her grin widened. "Glad ta' see ya' wised up, sugar. It's a cryin' shame how many folks've come through these parts needin' help, but refusin' to accept it.

Gumi couldn't even process what was going on anymore. She should be being grabbed and dragged out and handed over to the military right now. Why wasn't anyone yelling, or calling for her to be taken away? Looking around the restaurant, it was almost as if Ann hadn't even spoken. Every single occupant was already back to their business as usual. Sputtering, she tried to speak.

"I… but... you… what is…"

She failed.

Ann only smiled wider at her confusion. "Miki, be a dear and take her up ta' the house, would ya'? Get her a bath and some clothes that look half presentable. Tell Al on the way out, too." Looking at Gumi, she continued. "Look here, sugar. I done told ya' before. 'Round here we help out those in need, and ya'll are no exception."

Looking around the restaurant again, Gumi this time caught a few winks and smiles from several customers. Her heart swelled slightly at the show of support, and she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, or even if any of this was actually happening.

She didn't have time to contemplate the issue, however, as she once again felt Miki's hand on her arm. She was suddenly being pulled along, led through a swinging door with a circular window.

She passed by shelves of pots and pans, a large sink full of dishes, the door to a large walk-in refrigerator, and finally Al, who gave the pair a strange look as they passed by.

"Vocaloid. Hiding. Taking her to the house" said Miki. Al nodded his understanding.

"We're still on for tonight, right?" he said.

"I hardly think this is the time…"

Al simply looked at her with a slight puppy dog face. Miki sighed.

"Yes" she said. "Yes we are. Now get back to work."

Al did just that, with a slight spring in his step.

Gumi followed Miki out a back door. They circled around the side of the building, Miki checking around each corner to make sure the coast was clear. After walking a fair distance down from the military jeep, they crossed the street. As they got further away from the restaurant, it occurred to Gumi that she had left all of her belongings behind.

"Hey, what about my things?" she asked.

"I'll go back and get them for you later" said Miki. "For now, let's just get you somewhere safe."

Gumi looked around behind her. She could see the diner quite a ways back. From here she could just make out the form of Ann at the front door, talking to the soldier.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Several minutes later, the pair arrived at an old farmhouse. The outside paint was peeling and the building was in desperate need of some roofwork, but it gave off a definite sense of coziness. The front porch was covered in potted plants, save for a thin strip for walking, which was cracked concrete.

The sun shone down brightly, lending the entire place a friendly air as it basked in the warmth. It seemed that somehow not even the occasional chilly breeze of early fall could detract from it. From somewhere off in the distance, Gumi caught the crow of a rooster.

As they approached the door, Gumi noticed that it was made of a dark, rich wood with an old brass knocker affixed to the front. She had the sudden urge to grab it and knock as loudly as she could, just to see what it would sound like. Miki walked up to the entrance with much less interest, grabbing the knob and entering without fanfare.

As she passed the threshold, scents of lavender and cinnamon wafted into her nostrils. Somehow the smell put her at ease. It made the place feel less like a hiding spot and more like the home of a good friend.

The kitchen was the first room they came to, attached directly to the entrance hallway. On her left was a small oak table situated beneath a window, through which more of that curiously warm sunlight was filtering.

The sink was full of dishes. Pots and pans, plates and cups, knives and forks, all were tossed haphazardly into the basin. The countertops were likewise cluttered with other miscellaneous items. Napkin holders, toasters, a microwave, random bits of paper and envelopes from long-forgotten mail all littered the space.

Rather than make her feel disgusted, the clutter made Gumi feel yet even more welcome in this strange place. It reminded her of her own room, with all of its bits and pieces of electronic paraphernalia covering nearly every available surface.

She assumed they would still be going further into the house and made for a small archway leading into what was presumably the living room, but Miki stopped her, pointing to a small doorway that she hadn't noticed at first.

"There's the bathroom" she told her. "I'll go fetch you some of my old clothes from upstairs. Towels are in the closet there. Don't worry about how much hot water you use. Our water heater may be old, but it's a powerful sucker."

Miki smiled, some of her attitude of that morning returning. "Ann will return later today. The restaurant doesn't close until 6, so she'll be a while. I guess you'll just have to put up with me until then."

With that she walked out, leaving Gumi standing alone. The house felt a lot bigger without Miki's larger than life presence to fill it.

Gumi did as she was bade and opened the small closet, extracting a slightly musty-smelling towel. As she entered the bathroom, she once again caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her, still with the same strange, unfamiliar countenance that she had seen in the restaurant.

There was no obvious outward change, of course. She was still the same awkward green-haired teenager she had been several days ago, but there was no denying that something had shifted within her.

She had lost something. Her old life was over, whether she wanted it to be or not. In its place was a new reality where naivety no longer held a purpose. This new world required something different, something harder, something new. She could choose either to try and resist, and be swept along with the current in the end anyways, or she could embrace it. She could see this brave new world and conquer it, make it her own.

It was at that moment that Gumi Megpoid lost her innocence, and was forever changed. She had seen the harsh reality of the world, and its implications. Miku wasn't always going to be there to help her, to save her. At some point, the only one there to help her would be herself, and when that time came, she would have to rely on her own strength to make it through.

This realization came without warning. In the blink of an eye, her entire perspective was changed, all from a single glance in a mirror.

Such change cannot happen without repercussion.

Her breath suddenly came in gasps, and she fell to her knees on the tile floor, one hand grasping the edge of the bathroom sink, the other clutching at her frantically beating heart. A strange sound filled the room, and it took her a moment to realize that it was the sound of her own sobbing.

She cried for herself, she cried for Miku, she cried for her parents, and when she ran out of things to cry about, she cried for no reason at all. The tears streamed down her cheeks like a waterfall, each droplet a bit of her old self being purged.

A storm raged inside her. She couldn't figure out how to control the sea of emotions that now spilled forth. Why did things have to happen like this? It wasn't fair! It wasn't right! She hadn't done anything to deserve this! So why was she being punished?

The answers eluded her, and a part of her knew that she would probably never find out. Sometimes, that's just how the world works. The question was: when push came to shove, would she be ready?

She knew the answer to that question already. As she was, no. Shy, worrisome, reclusive Gumi would never make it in a world like this. If she was to survive, something had to change, and it had to change _now._

Her sobs slowly diminished to the occasional sniffle, and her tears began to dry. Her grip tightened on the sink. What was she doing? She needed to pull herself together. Nothing would ever get solved by kneeling here on the floor. But even so, she found it difficult to move.

She remained that way for several long moments, the full weight of just how alone she was finally bringing itself to bear against her. When she finally managed to pull herself together, she felt… hollow, as if something had left her. But at the same time, she could sense the presence of something new inside of her, pulsing with determination she wasn't aware she possessed.

Rising once more to her feet, she again looked into the eyes of her reflection. The vision that looked back was a new person, devoid of the things that had once made up a part of who she was. The sight filled her with trepidation, fear, and just the slightest bit of excitement.

She smiled.

Her mind was still fraught with worry about what was going to happen, but this time, that worry was tempered with courage, and she knew that she could overcome it. A new fire lit itself in her eyes, and for the first time, she truly believed the whispered words that passed her lips:

"I can do this."

"And what would that be?" came a voice from the bathroom door.

Gumi nearly leapt out of her skin. As preoccupied as she had been with the advent of her new perspective, she had completely failed to notice that Miki had returned with a set of clothes for her. She quickly pulled herself together and blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"Oh, um… I didn't see you there…" she stammered.

"Fear not" said Miki, having regained her usual boisterous manner, "I observed nothing." It was clearly a lie, the smile on her lips betrayed her. "I have brought fresh garments for you. It is my hope that they are to your liking. They may be a tad ill-fitting, as I do not know your sizes. If you need anything, do not hesitate to call for me."

She turned to leave, but Gumi stopped her.

"Hey, why do you do that?" she asked. "Why do you talk and act like that if you don't want to?"

Miki chuckled a bit at this. "Whoever said I didn't want to? If you'll recall, I only said I don't do it _just_ for fun. That most certainly doesn't mean that I _don't_ do it for fun. What child, in their daydreams, did not fantasize about being a superhero? Not any child I'd want to meet, that's for sure! Why, I'm practically living the dream!"

Gumi wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she simply nodded.

"I… think I understand" she tried to smile convincingly.

She failed.

Miki flashed another grin of her own before sweeping her arms around in a grand gesture, indicating the small room around them. "Well, madam, the facilities as such are at your disposal. Please feel free to make use of them as you see fit. For now, I shall bid you adieu."

She curtsied.

"ADIEU!"

With that, Miki slowly backed out of the bathroom and around the corner into the living room, never once breaking her curtsy. Gumi's convincingly smile had slowly morphed into an expression more akin to a grimace at this point. After Miki had disappeared from view, she again turned to her reflection, looking at it questioningly.

"Do you get it?"

Her reflection simply returned the same confused look. She sighed.

"Yeah, neither do I."

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

When she emerged from the bathroom, it was amidst a dense cloud of fragrant steam. Miki had been right about the hot water heater. Gumi couldn't remember the last time she had taken an hour long hot shower, if ever. It felt so wrong to stay in for that long.

And yet at the same time it felt so right.

A deep sigh of contentment escaped her lips. She felt so refreshed, more refreshed than she had in a long time.

The water had stripped away not only the grime covering her body, but the reservations surrounding her heart, as well. She felt imbued with a new sense of confidence in herself. Was this what Miku felt like all the time? No wonder she was always so energetic. Gumi felt like she could do anything.

The warmth of the midday light flowing through the windows only served to augment the alien feeling of assuredness permeating her being. She was unaccustomed to feeling so… unworried? That didn't seem right. She still felt apprehensive, just not unbearably so. Maybe… content? No, that didn't have the right ring to it either.

Gumi decided that she wasn't sure exactly how she felt, but that it was a good feeling. It was relief enough to not be completely fraught with worry over every little thing for once.

She made to go see the rest of the house, noting the strange feel of the ill-fitting clothes Miki had brought her as she walked. They tugged at different places than she was used to, and chafed awkwardly in uncomfortable areas. She'd have to see about that seamstress, there was no way she could wear these for a prolonged period.

Wandering into the living room, she found Miki seated on a large blue sofa, watching some sort of reality TV program. Currently, a large, muscular man could be seen trying in vain to hold back what appeared to be a large mob of screaming fans.

"What are you watching?" she asked.

"My favorite program!" replied Miki enthusiastically. "_Superstar Security._ It chronicles the exploits of the personal bodyguards of the pop idol Lily." Her face creased in a frown for a moment. "Though I am at a loss as to how the series can still be in production, considering Lily is a Vocaloid and therefore should be in government custody… Oh well, no matter! As long as I get to watch!"

Gumi knew the show. Personally she thought it was a load of hooey, just another "reality" show for the weak-minded, but she wasn't about to say so in front of one who had been so nice to her. Instead, she decided to do something that she had never envisioned herself doing in a million years. It was so unlikely that the entire Vocaloid crisis paled in comparison: she decided to sit down and watch.

She observed as the head bodyguard, Mike, tried to keep order among his subordinates. It was not going well. A young upstart named Jason wasn't happy with the way things were being run, and thought he should be in charge.

Gumi snorted at the ridiculousness of it. This was definitely not a show suited to someone of her intellectual ability. She could practically feel her IQ dropping as she watch….

Suddenly the two men were fighting. Fists were flying, clothes were ripping, and every other member of the security team was jumping in to tear the two apart. When the squabble finally died down, Mike and Jason were both shirtless and being held back by 4 other men apiece.

_God, I can't believe I'm watching this drivel. Those two are so stupid! What with those fake injuries and the cruddy dialogue and their bare chests…_

_Ok_, Gumi thought, _perhaps this isn't as bad as I originally thought._

She realized that she was tensed up and sitting on the edge of the couch, avidly watching the screen. She attempted to slide back into a more reasonable position in a completely casual manner.

She failed.

Being unused to her new clothes, they bunched up as she scooted back. She got caught up on them and felt backwards, knocking her head against the wall.

Rubbing the back of her head vigorously, she cast a glance at Miki. Fortunately, she seemed to either to have not noticed, or not cared. Considering the amount of shirtless musclebound flesh currently being displayed on the television, Gumi supposed she would have had to have been quite a bit more disruptive for Miki to have done either.

She decided that she would watch the remainder of this ridiculously awful program in a much more reserved manner, more befitting someone of her mental capacity…

And that she would enjoy every single depraved second of it.

By the end of the program, Gumi had gotten a very good idea of why this show was so popular, as well as its probable target demographic. Nearly half the show consisted solely of large, handsome men arguing with each other or engaging in some manly activity.

She realized that she was definitely part of the target demographic, and that realization came with no small amount of shame when she simultaneously realized that she was completely hooked.

Curse those people in marketing. They knew exactly how to prey on the vulnerabilities of young teenage girls.

Despite the undoubtedly large appeal of the show, however, the events of the last 48 hours were quickly making their effects known, and Gumi found her eyelids growing heavy. She suddenly noticed how comfortable the couch felt. She shouldn't fall asleep, though. It would be impolite. She had to wait for Ann to get back so she could thank her after all.

Then again… exhaustion as a result of running for one's life can be a powerful motivator for a nap.

_Maybe just a quick one…_ she thought to herself. Her last thought as she felt sleep closing in was how she could never, ever, EVER let Miku find out that she liked _Superstar Security_. It would be the end of her.

…

When she awoke, it was from the light of the late evening sun shining on her face. She groggily sat up, rubbing her eyes blearily and brushing at where her hair had plastered itself to the side of her head. She groaned. She'd been having the nicest dream. Something to do with bodyguards…

With some surprise she noticed that a blanket that had been draped across her. It must have been Miki. The crazy superhero wannabe in question was currently nowhere to be seen, however.

Suddenly an impeccably groomed hairstyle thrust itself into the room. Its owner, Ann, followed immediately after. At the sight of Gumi awake, her face broke into its usual smile.

"Well lookie there" she said. "Looks like someone's finally awake."

"I… uh…" Gumi scratched the back of her head. "Um… what time is it?"

"Ah reckon it's about 7:30 in the evenin' Sugar. Or ta' be more precise: dinnertime."

"What? I just ate though…" she said.

"Ya'll ate this mornin', sugar" said Ann with a smirk. "Ah think that qualifies as a mite longer than 'just'. If three squares a day is still the ideal, which it is, last ah checked, then yer due for another meal anyways. 'Sides, a growin' girl like you needs ta' keep her strength up. 'Specially one in yer position."

She followed up the last statement with a pointed glance. Gumi once again felt overcome by Ann's unsurpassable motherly nature. Quickly realizing that there would really be no other option than to go along with it, Gumi complied and got off the couch, following Ann into the kitchen.

For a moment she thought she had somehow walked into a different house. This was most certainly not the same kitchen from earlier. There was no way it could have been. It was too clean.

Whereas before the counters had been covered by innumerable objects of questionable importance and cleanliness, they now sparkled with a lustrous sheen, rivaling any gemstone she had ever seen. There was no trace of the large quantity of papers that had littered it before, either, having mysteriously disappeared to parts unknown.

The table had likewise been cleared and now looked far larger than Gumi remembered. Then again, that may have just been because it now looked like a proper table should, set with place settings, dishes of food, and even several scented candles which explained the aromas of cinnamon and lavender from earlier.

Said aromas were currently being smothered, however, as the smells from the elaborate meal that had been laid out far overpowered them. Momentarily too shocked to notice, Gumi's hunger quickly made itself known again as her stomach rumbled at the mere sight of so much home-cooked goodness.

"This… this is…" she began, not sure what to say.

"Oh, ah know it's a bit simple, sugar" said Ann. "Ya'll arrived on such short notice that ah didn't have the time to throw together any more than the basics."

Gumi's eye twitched. If _this_ was simple then she was slightly frightened as to what complicated would look like. The implications were staggering.

Ann frowned, apparently taking Gumi's lack of reaction as a sign that she was unimpressed. "Well, ah know it ain't much but-"

"How did you have the time?" Gumi asked, flabbergasted. "Just this morning this kitchen looked like a disaster area! And now it's… it's… this!" She indicated the scene in front of her, gesticulating wildly.

Ann's frown turned upside down in an instant. "Oh, tain't nothin' special" she said with a slight blush. "This is far less than ah would normally consider acceptable for recievin' guests."

That was it. Gumi was sure that this woman had to be some sort of wizard. She didn't know what manner of black magic had allowed her to perform such a miracle, but at the moment, she didn't really care.

The plates of food called to her. In particular a large dish of mashed potatoes situated next to a boat of gravy drew her attention more than the rest. Besides that, there were green beans, bread rolls and butter, and a small cooked game bird of some sort occupying the remaining space. All in all it was just an old fashioned, down home kind of meal.

Gumi thought it looked better than any five-star restaurant.

Noticing her interest in the spread, Ann chuckled slightly. "Well don't hold yerself back on my account, sugar! Go 'head and dig in! I made it for you, after all."

Gumi didn't need to be told twice. She jumped in with gusto, only just managing to hold herself back from tearing the meal apart as she had her omelet that morning. She barely noticed as Ann sat herself down across the table and loaded up her own plate, absorbed as she was with the task at hand.

The next several minutes passed quietly. The only sounds were the clinks of silverware against porcelain, the movement of serving dishes, and the occasional request for the other diner to pass some object or another.

Not surprisingly, Ann was the first to break the silence. After noticing that Gumi had slowed somewhat from her initial attack, she broke in with a comment.

"So ah see why ya'll were so hesitant ta' tell me about yer predicament earlier" she said. "Ah know from experience that it ain't easy for a Voc'loid on the run. Miki was a case all her own, ya' see."

A bit of uneasiness joined the food currently sitting in Gumi's stomach. She quickly quashed it, remembering that this was the woman who had so selflessly gone out of her way to help her.

"Yeah…" she said with a sigh. "It's… been a ride, that's for sure, and I've only been gone a day…"

Ann frowned a bit. "Ya'll don't really seem like the type who does well on her own. Pardon me for sayin', but ya' looked like a right mess when ya' stumbled in this mornin'."

Gumi nodded slightly in agreement. "You're right. I'm not. Frankly I have no idea what I'm doing. It was hard enough just getting away in the first place. Now I haven't a clue what to do next."

"Well, ya' have my help, if it's any consolation"

"Oh, but you've done so much for me already!" said Gumi, looking up earnestly into Ann's face. "I don't know how I could possibly ask you to sacrifice any more for my sake. I mean, you don't even know me, and yet you took me in. Certainly, that puts me further in your debt than I could ever adequately pay back."

"Yer right, sugar" said Ann. "Ah don't know ya'. But Ah've always prided myself on bein' a pretty darn good judge o' character. When ya'll walked in ta' mah restaurant today, ah could tell there was somethin' about ya'. Call it a hunch, but there's usually somethin' afoot when a pretty young thing like yerself ends up lookin' like ya' did."

Gumi made to respond but Ann interrupted her.

"Maybe" she said. "Maybe it's not what ah saw, but what ah _felt_. And maybe the only reason ah don't know a bit about ya' is because ya'll didn't want ta' tell me."

That was some down to earth wisdom if Gumi ever heard it. Ann was right, of course. Gumi had been understandably hesitant to reveal her purpose in Harmony that morning, but it didn't take someone of her intelligence to see that there had been something seriously amiss. Gumi felt embarrassed now. When Ann put it like that, it seemed rather silly that Gumi had been so secretive. She looked down to hide a look of guilt.

"And maybe" Ann continued. "Maybe ya'll were luckier than ya' thought, stumblin' inta' that particular doorway. Maybe…"

She flicked one of her fingers upwards and Gumi suddenly felt her chin being lifted by an invisible force.

"Maybe there's more ta' this simple waitress than meets the eye."

The green-haired teen simply stared. Ann's eyes sparkled with the tiniest hint of golden light as she extended a bit of vocal energy. It was a magical thing, the expression she wore. One could almost see the music dancing behind her eyes. Her gentle smile exuded the most sincere form of comfort that Gumi had ever experienced. She understood now what Miki had meant when she had called Ann the "kindest soul on the face of the planet."

So Gumi told her everything. She started at the very beginning and kept talking until every single detail had been exposed. She told her about Miku leaving in search of the "Legendary Assassin," how she had, in fact, managed to find and subsequently convince her (yes, _her_! I couldn't believe it either!) to become her teacher, and how her best friend had spent the last several months away from the Vocaloid crisis altogether, living her dream.

She told Ann about her own experience during Miku's absence, about their hours-long phone calls, their rudimentary planning sessions that bore no fruit, the eventual concoction of a plan too ridiculous to work and yet too insane to fail.

Ann heard about the net launcher, the voice clips, the "concession," and every other little damnable piece of technology that had gone into her desperate bid for freedom.

She told her about the escape itself, how the plan had actually started to work… before her parents got involved. Gumi teared up a bit as she recounted her parents' efforts to let her escape, while sacrificing themselves. She told her how she had made her way through the town, about her eventual encounter with the soldier, about how she had used that terrible device on him.

She had escaped, but at what cost? What use was freedom if she had no one to share it with?

"The walkie's completely destroyed now" she was saying, her eyes still moist. "I… I've got no way to contact her. Without that… I'm stuck out here…"

It was now completely dark. Gumi's discourse had consumed the better part of three hours. Ann's face had remained impassive through most of it, changing only to a slight smile or frown when appropriate. She now had a look of intense contemplation on her face.

"Well… that's a tale if ah ever heard one…" she said slowly. "Mah word, sugar. Ya've been through some tough times, that's for sure."

Gumi sniffled a bit. She used the back of her hand to wipe her eyes. "I can't even repair it. The components I need aren't exactly things that I can find just lying around. Add that to the fact that I've got no idea where to go now, and I'm basically out of options."

Ann looked at her incredulously. "Now, from what ya've told me ah was under the impression that ya'll were smart" she said with a smirk. "Ah suppose bein' intelligent don't mean that ya' got ta' have a lick o' common sense."

"What?" asked Gumi, perplexed.

"Do ya'll really think that ah'd turn ya' away after hearin' all that?" said Ann. "Yer stayin' here, sugar. I woulda thought that was obvious."

"What!? Oh no! I couldn't!" she protested. "I mean, a single night is one thing, but I couldn't impose on your hospitality so much as to actually live here!"

Ann rolled her eyes with a tired expression. "I'm gettin' the feeling that this is a thing with you. Do ya' always make a habit of refusin' the kindness of others?"

"But it would be incredibly rude!" Gumi said. "Eating your food, sleeping under your roof, just because you're such a nice person!"

"Ah'll consider it rude if ya' say no" said Ann, her expression determined. "There's two ways we can do this, sugar. One, ya'll can just accept mah offer outright, or two, we could sit here wheelin' and dealin' all dang night until you finally end up sayin' yes anyways. Now which is it gonna be?"

Gumi was dumbfounded. She hadn't imagined that kindness could be so… aggressive. This woman was practically ordering her to live here free of charge.

Gumi's head dropped again. It wasn't just the fact that she'd found a place to stay. Living here wouldn't solve anything. She still didn't have a way to get in touch with Miku.

"I'm sorry" she said, her eyes downcast. "But even if I do say yes, what difference will it make? I'm still stuck out here, aren't I? My best friend is still worlds away."

Her eyes began to water anew.

"What's the point of it all?" she asked, more to herself than to Ann. "What's the point of all this… this… I don't even know what to call it. How can this be rational? One year ago no one would have dreamed any of this possible."

Ann simply stared.

"What's it all for?" she continued, tears threatening to spill over again. "Is there someone, somewhere, that stands to gain something from this? What could be so important that someone would do this to an entire country? It won't accomplish anything. This is not how a society betters itself!"

An edge of anger seeped into her voice.

"All we're doing is tearing ourselves apart! The worst part of it is that I know that there are people who will try to stop it, and they'll be hurt or killed in the process. I can just sense that Miku is out there somewhere right now doing just that! She won't ever stop trying to fix this because she can't. It's who she is."

The anger evaporated, replaced by a sudden melancholy.

"Then what am I? What does it say about me if I'm not out there doing the same? If I'm not trying my hardest to stop whatever is going on?"

A few stray tears rolled down her cheeks, she wiped them away and continued.

"I don't know what to think of myself anymore. A few days ago it all seemed so cut and dry. I was a fool for ever thinking it could be that simple. I should be smarter than that. I _am_ smarter than that, I know I am."

Ann was impressed. This girl was riding an emotional rollercoaster and she was still psychoanalyzing herself the whole time.

"I guess I'm just afraid" said Gumi after a long pause. "I'm afraid of everything anyways, but this is something completely different. I don't think there's been single day in the last five months where I haven't been terrified of something. I've forgotten what it feels like to live normally. But what am I afraid of?"

She was talking completely to herself now. Her mind had begun the process of unraveling a train of thought, and she was almost at the end.

"What's the one thing this crisis has caused more than anything else? Separation. It separates children from their parents, breaks up marriages, and tears friendships apart. What does that mean for the people who get left behind? It means they're alone."

And that was it. That was the heart of the problem. Her greatest fear was being alone. That fear had tainted everything she had done for months. She had ignored it as best she could. She hadn't even entertained the idea of a backup plan for this kind of situation. She should have known, she _had _known, that this could happen. She knew that it was possible for her and Miku to be separated somehow, but to recognize that, she would have to also recognize the possibility of being completely, utterly alone.

Well now she didn't have a choice in the matter. Now she had to face her fears. And that was when she came to a realization more jarring than any other:

She couldn't.

There was no way she could ever face being alone. It simply wasn't in her to do it. But there it was. She was alone, and there was nothing she could do about it.

The dam broke, and the tears flowed once again.

"I'm alone!" she managed to choke out between sobs. "I don't want to be alone! I'm scared!" She cried like a child wailing for its mother.

The scrape of chair legs against linoleum was the only thing that signaled Ann getting up from her seat. In an instant she was wrapping Gumi in a tight embrace, shushing her and telling her it would all be ok.

"Now now" she said. "Make no mistake, this here situation we got on our hands sure as shootin' ain't the best ah've ever seen, but ah'll bet ya' it ain't the worst neither."

Ann held her until her sobs eventually died down, comforting her all the while. When finally Gumi had calmed down to only the occasional hiccup, Ann brought her out to arms length and looked her straight in the eye. Her expression was one of supreme empathy and kindness.

"Listen here, sugar" she said. "Ah've seen a lot of things in mah life. A lot of them are bad and a fair number are worse. But if there's one thing that ah've learned from it all it's this:"

She brought Gumi back into a hug and spoke directly into her ear.

"Ya'll might be on yer own, on occasion, but you are _never_ alone" she said forcefully.

Ann's words were simple, but the message behind them held a deep truth.

Gumi tried to hold back the tears, really she did.

She failed.

She cried into the shoulder of this woman she had met not 24 hours ago. It's funny how things happen sometimes.

Only this time, the tears weren't tears born out of fear, but of gratefulness. That she would encounter such a kind soul in her time of need was nothing short of miraculous.

Somehow it seemed like Ann knew just what to say. Gumi clung to her for dear life as the emotional storm within her ran its course. Eventually, those sobs too subsided, and Gumi was left feeling very worn out. So much crying in a single day will do that to a person.

It was a strange feeling. Gumi felt lighter, like some invisible weight had been lifted from her shoulders. So much had happened in the span of just two days, but somehow, she felt… happy. In some incredibly unlikely way, Gumi Megpoid was happy. Maybe it was Ann, maybe it was this place, maybe it was the fact that she had finally confronted her fears.

Maybe she didn't care.

She decided that for once, she didn't need to know why, she would just enjoy the ride. The bubbly feeling inside of her rose and she giggled a bit. She said the first thing that came to mind.

"You know, I can see why Miki likes _Superstar Security_ so much."

Ann gave her a quizzical look. For some reason, Gumi found this to be incredibly funny, and she nearly collapsed out of her chair with laughter. Ann looked on in utter confusion, not sure what to make of the spectacle.

It must have been fate that Miki chose that exact moment to walk through the door.

She wasn't alone, however. She could barely get the door open with all the affection Al was currently lavishing on her, tickling her sides as she giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Al, stop it!" she said between gasps of laughter. "I mean it! Oh you're such a bad boy!"

As absorbed as they pair was with their activities, neither noticed for several moments that they were, in fact, not alone, and had acquired an audience. When finally Miki managed to find the hallway light switch, the two of them froze completely at the wide, staring eyes of both Gumi and Ann seated at the kitchen table.

Al was the first to recover.

"Oh… um… good evening there ladies…" he stammered. "We uh, didn't see you there."

This time Gumi wasn't the only one laughing. It started as a just a slight snicker, but quickly snowballed out of control. Soon both her and Ann were struggling not to fall out of their seats as they laughed.

Miki 'hmph'd' and crossed her arms. This only served to make the pair laugh harder.

They held onto each other for support as they positively howled with merriment. Gumi cried for the fourth time, unable to stop herself as she could barely breathe.

After a moment, Al began to chuckle as well, realizing how ridiculous they must have looked, involved as they were. Soon he added his deep tenor to the din, shaking the walls as he guffawed heartily.

After several seconds of trying to act insulted, even Miki let out a sheepish chuckle which soon developed into a full blown laughing fit.

The sounds of hilarity filled the night as the four of them laughed together, and for a moment, Gumi was able to forget about the issue at hand. There would be time later for her to worry and obsess over every little thing.

For now, she was just glad to be in good company.

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

Hoo boy, that one was a doozy! Took a little longer to write because I really had to get Miki's personality just right. I think I nailed it though.

This chapter was primarily a character development segment for Gumi. She's going to have to step it up if she wants to be prepared for what I have in store for her!

On a side note, Ann's accent is really annoying to write. I don't know why I decided to give her a country accent, but it just seemed to fit. Ann wasn't even supposed to be in this story originally, but right as I was about to introduce the waitress character, I realized that she was absolutely perfect and the rest just sort of fell into place.

Anyways, now it's time for a new segment. I figured that since it's going to be recurring a lot in future chapters, I'd give a brief lesson on Lucentian (Luka's language) at the end of each chapter. This first lesson is on something I like to call:

THE DOUBLE COMPOUND RULE

Lucentian is a language based largely on context. What makes it unique is that any two nouns and most adjectives can be combined into a single word. This can create some problems, however, as I found while inventing the language. This is because if you string too many words together, it gets really confusing really fast.

That's where this rule comes into play. A compound can involve, at most, three words. An example:

The word _Oniigasen_ is actually an incorrect pronunciation. It's full form is _Oniimagasen_, but it's such a common word in Lucentia that it's been shortened in common usage.

Let's look at the full form. _Oniimagasen _means "Guiding Spirit Animal," and is a compound of three separate words. These are:

_Oniina_ – Spirit.

_Mana_ – Animal, or possessing animalistic qualities.

_Gasen_ – Guide, guiding, etc.

If we wanted to make "Spirit Animal," we would combine _Oniina_ and _Mana_ to make _Oniimana_. This is called a Primary Compound.

Similarly, we could create another Primary Compound by combining _Mana_ and _Gasen_ to create _Magasen_, which would be "Animal Guide."

To create the full word, we add the remaining word to the mix to create _Oniimagasen_. This is known as a Secondary Compound. This rule applies to every possible combination of words, some of which can have multiple meanings, but we'll discuss that another time.

Next time: sentence structure and the word _"do_" (pronounced like 'dough').

Now on to the music! Only two this time around.

"A Momentary Trip" – This song by Gumi is exactly what I envisioned for this chapter. It's about looking to the future, which is exactly what Gumi is trying to do here. Will she be successful? Only time will tell.

Link to Subbed youtube video: watch?v=iOcw6GmQCe4

"The Winner Takes it All" – This rendition by Sweet Ann of the classic song by ABBA pretty much captures Ann's character and is her theme for this story. She's had her share of hardships in the past, but she's moved past them and she's a better person for it. Now, can she show Gumi how to do the same? Also, since Ann's an English Vocaloid, no subs needed!

Link to youtube video (in English!): watch?v=iijRGHuNj7U&list=PL247310A1981A5A9E&index=147&feature=plpp_video

That's it for this update! I hope you enjoyed Vocal Vision chapter 13, Sugary Sweet! Gumi Alone and Afraid!

As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

I know I always say this, but review! I love reviews! This is shameless review-pandering and I don't care! Your input helps me improve as a writer! Tell me I'm great! Tell me I suck! Just tell me something! I always respond to signed reviews as well, so there's that.

Well, that's all she wrote. Anything to add Ann?

"Glad ya'll stuck around, sugar! See ya' next time!"

This is AnarchySong, signing off!


	14. Delightfully Mad! Arrested Development!

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

To avoid confusion, I would like to comment on the time frames in this chapter. All of Uta's scenes are set in the present, happening alongside the exploits of Miku, Luka, and Gumi. Teto's scenes are a couple days ahead, just so you know. This will not be the case in future chapters, and normal chronology will be reestablished.

**********************************Chapter 14***********************************

_Floating…_

Darkness. Complete, all-encompassing darkness. Her body hung in suspended animation somewhere in the endless void.

_Gently…_

It wasn't too bad though. Pretty comfortable, really. It was warm and quiet here. No more of all that yelling and gunfire that she hated so much.

_Flying to you love…_

Something was nagging at the corner of her mind, though. She couldn't help but feel like she had forgotten something. It was something important… or someone…

_I hope that…_

Ugh. Trying to remember made her head hurt. It probably wasn't _that_ important. Besides, if it came with all of that horrible noise from before, she didn't want to remember anyways. Much better to stay where it's peaceful.

_You see dear…_

A light was slowly spreading out around her. She didn't like it. It hurt her eyes and gave her a headache. She tried to turn over and go back to sleep, but the light only grew brighter.

_That my love is true…_

No! She didn't want this! The light was bad. The light would bring it all back. The light would make her remember. Remember… remember who?

"Mom!" Teto gave a strangled cry as she jerked awake, bolting upright. She immediately regretted this action, however, as a splitting pain tore through her skull. Her hands leapt to her head as she groaned in pain.

"nngh…" she winced, her brain feeling like it had been put through a juicer. She saw everything as though through a veil of fog, and it was hard to make her thoughts focus. Her limbs felt heavy, like they were weighted down with bags of sand. She dropped her arms limply back to her sides as the pain in her head slowly subsided.

"Oh? Well hello there, sleepy head" said a cheerful voice to her right.

Teto jumped, the voice startling her. A second jolt of pain burst through her head and she clutched at it again.

"Careful. Try not to move around too much" said the voice. Opening one of her eyes, clenched shut in pain, she located the source of the voice in a woman seated next to her bed. Wait… bed? When had she gotten into a bed? She couldn't recall, and trying to force it only caused her head to pound even harder.

"Nngh..." she groaned. "Where am I? Who are you? Why can't I remember anything?"

"Shh… just calm down" said the woman at her side. "You've had a rough time of it. But you're safe now. Just relax."

The woman placed a hand on Teto's shoulder in a gesture of comfort. Instead of having the intended effect, however, the instant she made contact, Teto jerked away as if she had been struck. She violently pushed herself away and cowered at the opposite end of the bed, her eyes wide with a crazed terror.

"Oh you poor thing…" said the woman, holding a hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. Look, I don't mean you any harm, see?"

To accentuate her point, the woman stood and backed off several feet. She held her hands up in what was meant to be a placating gesture. "Please, I only want to help."

Teto eyed the woman warily, one arm still raised defensively in front of her. That slight touch had felt to her like an electric shock. She wasn't sure what this woman was playing at, but it certainly hadn't felt like she meant her no harm.

The woman's expression, however, was of extreme concern. It didn't _seem_ as if she wanted to hurt her. Teto ventured a tentative question:

"I-If you don't want to hurt me, then w-why did you do that?" she asked shakily, still not lowering her guard.

For her part, the woman looked confused, but only for a moment. Suddenly her hands leapt to her mouth and she let out a small gasp.

"Oh no… I'm so so so sorry!" she said, sounding for all the world like she meant it. "I forgot you're recovering from burnout. My energy must have… oh no, no no no! Please, you have to forgive me! I didn't mean it!"

The woman was now basically prostrating herself before Teto at the foot of the bed, her hands clasped together in a pleading gesture.

Now it was Teto's turn to be confused. She honestly had no idea what was going on here. What was 'burnout?' It didn't sound good, whatever it was, but she couldn't recall having ever experienced it before. This woman certainly wasn't making things any easier, her frenetic apologizing serving only to increase Teto's ever growing trepidation.

Her face must have betrayed her emotions, as after a moment the woman quirked an eyebrow.

"You look… confused" she observed.

"Among other things" replied Teto, still trying to get a handle on the situation. If only she could get her head to stop aching for one second. "Why does my everything hurt?" she said, more to herself than the woman.

"That'll go away after a while" said the apologetic individual, whose wary expression hinted at something akin to suspicion. "It's very common for burnout victims to feel sore and lethargic, and you've got the worst case of it I've ever seen."

There was that word again. "Burn…out?" Teto questioned.

The woman looked taken aback. "You… don't know what it is? What Vocaloid doesn't know what burnout is?"

Teto's headache spiked again at these words. "I'm a… Vocaloid?" she intoned, again more to herself than the woman. She couldn't recall ever having been a Vocaloid. Then again, she was having trouble recalling much at all right now. Still, the words somehow felt right as she said them, and she knew instinctually that they were true. How she knew this, she had no idea. Damn it. If only she could remember…

The woman was giving her a decidedly strange look now. Her eyebrows furrowed together to form a line crinkled in thought. "You didn't know that you were a Vocaloid?" she asked slowly. "How much _do_ you remember exactly?"

Teto just shook her head, an action she immediately regretted as a fresh wave of pain overtook her.

The woman looked even more worried than before. "That's… not very much, is it?"

"Where am I?" Teto reiterated. She could sense that there was something she should remember, a lot of somethings, actually. A dark veil covered her thoughts, and she struggled to push it aside, without success.

"The Medley's Vale Vocaloid Relocation Center" the woman answered. "It's the highest security VRC in the country. How could you not know? Weren't you scheduled to come here?"

Medley's Vale… why did that sound so familiar? Wasn't that where Uta had gone on vacation? Wait, who was Uta? Why did-

"Augh!" Teto cried out again as another spike drove itself into her cranium. This time, however, the pain brought with it a flash of truth. Uta… how could she have forgotten her best friend? She must be worried sick about her. She had been at school when…

Several more jolts of pain accompanying several more memories sent her mind reeling. The events of the previous day? Week? How long had she been out, exactly?

Like a dam breaking, her memories began to flood back with frightening acuity. Had she been in a less agitated state, she may have remarked upon the slim odds of having two such experiences in such a short period of time. As things stood, however, she was currently far too engaged by the agony splitting her skull apart to really appreciate it.

The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt. Well, perhaps that wasn't the entire truth. Now that she remembered, it wasn't quite as bad as the first time. It still hurt a considerable amount, though.

Tears leaked out the sides of her eyes, screwed shut in pain. Her hands maintained a white-knuckled deathgrip on the sheets of her bed as she was assaulted by a seemingly endless torrent of recollection.

The woman gasped in alarm. "Nurse! Nurse!" she cried, but Teto held up a hand to silence her.

She spoke through clenched teeth. "Just… give it… a minute" she forced out. The pain gradually diminished, waning to nothing more than a dull throb in the back of her skull. When at last the attack had subsided, Teto sank back down until her head was resting once again resting on her pillow. Her hands reached up to massage her temples, leaving her eyes closed. The tears continued to flow, though they were unaccompanied by sobs.

She felt… odd. She was sad, but unable to indulge her sorrow. She was scared, but too weak at present to really recognize her fear. She was angry, but lacked the energy to muster any sort of effort. The raging storm of emotions inside of her had calmed itself, if only due to exhaustion. Opening her eyes, slightly, she squinted down towards the woman, still situated at the end of the bed. She looked shocked, worried, and confused all at once, and all three vied simultaneously for dominance.

Teto gave her a weak smile. "Ok… yeah. I guess I _am_ a Vocaloid."

The woman just stared.

**************************Tuesday, August 31st, 'V' Day****************************

Uta could recall having had better nights.

Not surprising. Getting arrested isn't generally a common occurrence. It sucks quite a bit, you see. There's a lot of rough handling involved, as well as a very forceful disregard for personal space.

Handcuffs are an absolute _chore_ to wear, you have no idea. You wouldn't really imagine them as anything more than an annoying trinket that prevents you from using your arms, but the way those things chafe on the wrists is murder.

Police cars don't have comfortable seats. One would think they'd at least have the usual cloth or leather affair. One would be wrong. Plastic is just awful when you have to sit on it for a prolonged period. Uta wondered how people ever voluntarily went to sports functions and subjected themselves to hours of the worst posterior abuse imaginable.

Processing. Takes. Forever. From the waiting, body search, more waiting, fingerprinting, even more waiting, and being left cuffed to a bench while the officer handling you takes a smoke break, it's about as thrilling as watching paint dry.

They really do give you one phone call though. Not that you really get to choose who it's to if you're a minor. Your parents are pretty much guaranteed an awkward conversation, their child stuttering over the simplest sentences as they try not to die of embarrassment.

The Vocaloid crisis? Not helping. Considering that Article "who cares", subsection "absolutely no one" of the Vocaloid Relocation Act stated that "any individual detained in association with Vocaloid activity or suspected association thereof must be held for a minimum of twelve hours," Uta was definitely not a happy camper.

As it was, eight of those twelve hours had already passed in complete, utter boredom and embarrassment, and it was now the middle of the night. She _had _been a little scared at first, but that soon faded as she found out what an absolute ordeal the whole affair was. She would certainly try to avoid being arrested in the future, if only to spare herself the torture of watching moments of her life tick away when she could be doing something productive.

Admittedly, her actions of the previous day had been… ill-advised, to put it lightly. But when she saw what those... those _monsters_ were doing to her best friend…

***********************The Previous Day. Monday, August 30th***********************

It was quiet in the classroom, almost unnervingly so. The only sounds were the scratching of pencil on paper, and the occasional cough or clearing of a throat.

No one said anything, but you could tell by the furtive glances shot every few seconds at the clock that it was nearing the end of the school day. An almost palpable anticipation filled the room as the students waited for the most holy of sounds: the bell, to release them to eke out the final vestiges of summer before schoolwork fully claimed them for the next few months.

Business as usual. What happened next, however, was not.

Uta heard the explosion from halfway across town. Not surprising, so did everyone else. It was a hard thing to miss, what with the noise that shook the building, followed closely by a huge column of smoke billowing up in the distance.

She knew that it was Teto's house immediately, of course. There was no rational reason for why, she could just tell. The instant she heard the boom, the bottom dropped out of her stomach. She had been on pins and needles all day, worrying about how Teto would cope with her mother been taken away. Obviously, the answer was "not well," but she hadn't been expecting an explosion.

But something wasn't right. Wasn't this a day early? The date was set for tomorrow, she was sure of it. What could possibly have happened?

The entire classroom rushed over to the window as one large conglomerate. Miss Omote tried in vain to restore order, raising her voice and telling everyone to stay calm and return to their seats. It was a good effort, if doomed to failure from the start.

Not one student even made an attempt to listen. Eventually, the educator realized the futility of her efforts and instead picked up the phone at her desk to try and get some answers out of the front office.

In the midst of the tumult, no one noticed as Uta slipped quietly out the door.

It took her next to no time to trace the familiar route back to Teto's house from the school. Having traveled it so many times, she could have done it in her sleep. Doing it at a full sprint, she made it in minutes.

What she found upon arrival made her heart stop. Teto's house… was gone. She couldn't fathom how it was possible, but all that remained of the Kasane homestead was a smoldering crater. A scant few support beams and concrete foundations were all that was left to indicate that a home had ever stood there, and even those were cracked and charred nearly beyond recognition.

It was immediately apparent that the relocation had started a day early. She didn't know why, and at the moment, she didn't really care, either. There was a much more pressing matter at hand.

Teto was nowhere to be seen. The entire scene was surrounded by military vehicles and swarming with law enforcement. A fire truck had arrived to put out a few small fires and there was an ambulance parked nearby.

Uta did a double take. The ambulance's bay doors were open, and a stretcher was currently being loaded into it. Upon it, clearly visible and bound tightly to a plastic board by cloth straps, was Teto.

The noise around Uta died down in an instant as her mind muted her senses to all but the fact that her best friend was currently being loaded into an emergency vehicle.

If she had sprinted to get there from school, it was nothing compared to how fast Uta cleared the distance from where she stood to where Teto was.

Before she could reach her destination, however, her path was blocked by the form of a man in full police garb. Uta did the sensible thing in her mind and ignored him, trying to step around, not registering the fact that he was telling her repeatedly to do exactly the opposite.

His protestations finally got through when he grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him.

"WHAT!?" she screamed in his face. "Can't you see that I'm kind of busy!? What is your malfunction!?"

The man seemed taken aback for only a moment by Uta's sudden outburst. He quickly recomposed himself.

"Ma'am, this is a restricted area! Only approved personnel are allowed beyond the perimeter. I'm going to have to ask you to step back."

Uta just stared at him as if he was stupid. She told him as much. "What sort of brain damage are you suffering from? Hell no! In case you haven't noticed, that's my best friend being loaded into that ambulance!" she tried again to step around only to be blocked for a second time.

"Ma'am! I'm sorry but you're going to have to step back! You are in violation of-"

"Would you shut up!?" she screamed. "I don't care what I'm in violation of! Let me through, dammit!" she renewed her efforts but the man refused to budge. Her anger growing, she cast a smoldering glare at the officer in front of her.

"Look, I don't have time for this bullshit! Let me through!"

The officer placed one hand on the stun gun in his belt. "Ma'am, I will not ask you again. Back. Up. Now."

Uta's only response was to rush forward and take a swing at the man. In retrospect, she realized what a terrible decision this had been, but at the time, she was too far blinded by rage to care.

It was only a matter of seconds before the repercussions of her actions became quite clear, the policeman easily wrestling her face down on the ground and pinning her arms behind her back. As her face scraped against the pavement she snarled and struggled with all of her might, looking up just in time to see the ambulance doors closing.

"Teto!" she screamed, her cry drowned out as the siren began to wail. "TETO!"

Angry tears began to well up in her eyes as she tried desperately to dislodge the man atop her. It was no use. As the cuffs clicked shut and she was roughly hauled to her feet, she watched in despair as her friend was hauled off to who-knows-where.

**************************Tuesday, August 31st, 'V' Day****************************

It made her seethe just thinking about it. Putting their filthy hands all over her best friend… What on earth had happened? What could possibly have caused such a huge explosion? None of her questions to the officers had yielded any answers worth a damn.

She didn't care any for their empty words. Nor did she care for their obviously contrived explanations and official procedures. She wanted answers, and she wanted them _now._

Unfortunately, in her present situation, answers were not forthcoming. For better or worse, she was stuck there until the law said she was free to go. With four hours until that particular benchmark, Uta let out a sigh and resigned herself to her fate.

She cast a glance about the holding cell. It really must have been a busy day for her town's relatively small police force, if the fact that she was sharing the cell with another occupant was any indication. Said occupant also happened to be male, which had caused her a bit of trepidation at first, but considering he had been asleep since she arrived, it didn't worry her too much.

Almost as if on cue, the man suddenly gave a grunt and sat up. He looked around him blearily for a few seconds before his eyes fell on Uta. A look of confusion passed across his features before he asked:

"What are you doing in my house?"

Uta sighed again. Looking back at the rollercoaster of the last few days, this was pretty much par for the course. Of course she'd be put in a cell with… whatever the hell this guy was. A hobo? Maybe, but he didn't look like any vagrant she'd ever seen.

The "hobo" in question had medium-length shaggy brown hair that was currently tousled quite impressively from his extended nap. His bright blue eyes sat like diamonds embedded in a hard face with sharp features. His nose tapered almost to a point and he had thin lips, hiding a mouth full of strikingly white teeth. The bags under his eyes hinted as one too many nights spent partying rather than sleeping, and though he wasn't old, his face still bore a few lines from a hard-lived rock and roll lifestyle.

His clothes were a study in punk rocker fashion. A beat up leather jacket covered an even more worn out, faded T-shirt with a smiling skull emblem emblazoned on the front. A tattoo of a small flame was just visible beneath the sleeve on his left wrist. A bright red letter 'A' was set in the center.

He wore an appropriately ragged pair of black denim trousers, replete with patches and discolored segments from years of wear. Chains hung from his pockets and belt loops, and a pocket watch could be seen dangling from one. Uta thought it was a little weird to store a pocket watch on the outside of one's clothing, but then again, this guy looked weird enough to pull it off.

She was about to respond and inform the man that this actually was, in fact, not his house, but he beat her too it.

"Wait… this isn't my apartment…" he said, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

He blinked several times and looked around again. For a second time his gaze settled on Uta. As if he hadn't noticed her in the first place, he stared.

"Sup" he said simply.

"Not much" replied Uta unenthusiastically.

The man stood and strode across the cell towards Uta, offering his hand for a shake. "I'm Mad, nice to meet you."

"I'm Uta" she said, before fully registering his words. "Wait, you're… mad?"

The man smiled a manic smile. "Delightfully."

Yep… par for the course.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

After assuring the strange woman at her bedside that she was ok, Teto had come to a few troubling realizations.

The first was that she didn't know where she was. Apparently it was something called a "Vocaloid Relocation Center," but she'd be darned if she knew what that meant. It didn't sound like a friendly place, certainly. The name had a very cold, official sound to it, definitely not the name of a place one would want to be for any extended period.

The appearance of the room around her wasn't really helping either. The walls were a dull, off-white, possibly having once been a soothing pastel yellow only to fade with time. It was some kind of infirmary, that much was clear. Other beds like hers were arranged along the walls, separated by heavy blue curtains.

The floors were carpeted, save for a single long strip of plain white tile that stretched through the middle of the room, terminating at a set of double doors on either end. The place had the look of a long hallway that had been hastily repurposed for its current usage.

The constant low buzz of fluorescent lighting could be heard from the ceiling, where the luminescent tubes cast the room in a stark, antiseptic sort of gloom.

The fact that there were no windows wasn't helping matters. Teto's perception of time had been completely shattered, as she didn't know how long she had been there. A quick glance around the room revealed that there were no wall clocks, either, or at least none that were visible.

This raised her second question to the forefront of her mind: How long _had_ she been here, exactly? The last thing she could recall was an enormous surge of power, followed by darkness. She didn't think she'd ever quite be able to forget the feeling of all that energy rampaging inside her. Where had all of that power come from? Had she always possessed it? Her heart told her yes, but her mind wasn't so sure.

She couldn't trust anything she felt just then, which wasn't much, come to think of it. Her emotions felt dull, weak, deadened. She recalled that the outpouring of destruction that she assumed had destroyed her house had brought with it an equally devastating flood of confusing feelings. She had felt sad, scared, and angry all at once, and all three in such staggering quantities that it was a wonder that she hadn't just broken from the strain of it all.

Now, however, though those things were still certainly present inside her, fear chief among them at the moment, it was as if she wasn't really _feeling_ them at all. She knew she was scared, yet at the same time her senses seemed incapable of registering that beyond the most basic of impulses.

The woman that had greeted her upon waking up had mentioned something called "burnout." Teto could only imagine that this suppressed emotional state was a side effect of that. She couldn't think of a better word for it, honestly. She certainly felt burnt out, like a raging fire had scorched its way through her and left only a charred husk.

She decided that it wasn't altogether an unpleasant feeling, however. The sensation, or rather the lack thereof, of not being able to feel emotions correctly was a novel experience. Teto briefly wondered if this was what sociopaths felt like all the time. It made it easier to deal with the stress of the situation, at least.

And her situation _was_ stressful, that much was certain. Even through the heavy blanket that had fallen over her senses, a pang of distress made itself known.

It was the third problem that had started plaguing her: her mother was dead, killed by a soldier's bullet. This realization hit her with less force than it had at the moment it happened, but the initial surprise had been replaced with a pain in the pit of her stomach that refused to go away.

It was at this point that Teto realized that burnout must not be very much unlike being in shock. She felt numb all over. She sensed even through her emotionally hampered state that when the gravity of the situation finally hit her, it was going to hit hard.

For now, however, she had questions, and she needed answers. She glanced up at the woman, still near her bedside. She seemed to know some things, albeit exactly _what_ she knew was still a mystery.

Now that Teto was able to really get a look at her, she realized that she was quite beautiful, stunningly so. Her long, blonde hair framed a soft, kind, almost naïve-looking face that couldn't quite hide the weight of worldly knowledge behind her bright blue eyes.

Her small neck rested softly atop the gentle, diminutive curve of her shoulders, the edges of which were just visible beneath a stylish butter yellow wide-necked shirt. Her arms tapered gracefully to a pair of delicate hands with immaculately manicured nails, painted sky-blue and polished to a bright sheen.

A simple, white and yellow mini skirt that was still modest enough as to be appropriate accentuated her curvaceous hips in a manner that added a flair of sex appeal to the simplicity of the overall ensemble.

A pair of brand name designer boots that looked as though they cost a fortune adorned her feet, one of which was currently tapping to some unseen beat.

The entire affair made her breathtakingly attractive in a modern sort of way. This was only slightly diminished as she failed to stifle an enormous yawn, which she immediately looked embarrassed about, her faint blush ratcheting her cuteness up several notches.

Teto couldn't shake the strangest feeling that she had seen this woman somewhere before. Everything about her seemed somehow familiar, from the curve of her face to how she carried herself, but the exact reason eluded her.

"So…" Teto ventured, unsure where to begin. "Umm… I'm a little confused right now… Well, more than a little, actually."

The woman perked up instantly when Teto began to speak. She certainly seemed eager to help her feel comfortable.

"I figured as much" she replied. "I'm not really sure how much help I can be though, I'm pretty confused myself. Are you or are you not aware that you're a Vocaloid?"

"No, I am, I guess I just… forgot?" said Teto, realizing how strange that sounded.

"You… forgot you were a Vocaloid?" asked the woman incredulously. "Forgive me, but… _how_, exactly?"

Teto thought about it for a moment. In truth, she didn't really know. It was probably just a symptom of the trauma she had gone through, but she wasn't counting anything out at this point.

"I didn't really even know I was one" she said. "All this stuff just kind of happened and now I'm here. "

The woman looked understandably unimpressed. It obviously wasn't an answer that told her very much. "Ok... and what exactly is 'stuff'?"

"Umm… well, a bunch of soldiers broke down our door to come and take my mom, because she's a Vocaloid, and we were confused because it was a day early. Then there was a bunch of yelling and grabbing and then some guy slapped my mom and I just remember feeling really angry and then there was this sort of weird power surge that hurt my head and I guess I kind of blew one of the soldiers through a wall? There was all this really loud music in my head and it made everything kind of funny. My mom tried to bite one of them and she… got shot…"

Teto paused for a moment, a small pang of sadness hitching her words in her throat. She pressed onwards.

"Then I remembered all this stuff about when I was little and my dad getting killed and a bunch of other really sad stuff and the power kind of got… bigger. I don't really know how to describe it, there was just more of it, I guess. Anyways, it got bigger and bigger and then sort of… exploded and then I think I passed out. And… now I'm here."

If her slack-jawed expression were any indication, the woman hadn't understood any of that any better. Not that you can really blame her.

"So you…" she paused, trying to make something of the unintelligible deluge that had just poured out of Teto's mouth. Her mouth worked silently for a few moments before she continued with: "I'm sorry, WHAT?"

"A bunch of soldiers broke down-"

"No, no. Not that again. Start from the beginning. Start from the beginning and go _slowly,_ if you don't mind."

"The beginning?" said Teto questioningly. "Like when I was born? I don't know; that's a pretty long story."

A melancholic smile passed across the woman's lips. "Well, we've got plenty of time, trust me. Time is one thing you have in abundance here. Please, I'd actually like to just listen to someone talk to me, if that's ok with you."

Teto was perplexed by the woman's statement. She wanted her to… just talk? "Umm… Ok, I guess… if you want. Where do I start…"

She started at the very beginning, or at least as far back as she could remember. Her early childhood had been happy, that much she knew. She spoke a lot about her father. Now that she really remembered him, there were things popping up that she had never known about, or that she had, but had forgotten.

She recalled that it was her father that had always called her "drill bit" as a pet name. Her mother hadn't started until after he was gone. She remembered his smile. She couldn't think of a time when he didn't have at least a small grin on his face. Even when he was tired or annoyed, he always told her that smiles were the easiest way to make the world a better place. It was because they were infectious, he said, the best virus a person could get. Once you saw someone smiling, it was just easy for you to do same, and then for others to smile when they saw yours.

She was surprised how vivid her recollections were, actually. They played like videos in her head, windows to a time gone by.

Teto spoke about her mother, her wonderful, hard-working, always loving mother who worked herself to the bone to provide for her daughter. Never in her life had she met someone who was more dedicated, and she suspected she never would.

She talked about how her mother would help her with her hair every morning when she was a little girl, putting it up in her trademark double drills, then teaching her how to do it when she got older.

She avoided the topic of her death. She'd deal with that in her own way when the time came, but it was too soon, the shock still too great.

Her stories about Uta always featured herself as a side character. She was convinced that her best friend was really the best friend, period. It was endearing, the way she spoke of Uta's accomplishments as things of near-Olympian status, how Uta was so brave that nothing scared her, how Uta always protected her from bullies and helped her study even though she had finished her own work days beforehand. Nothing could stop her, and nothing ever would.

The subject of the Vocaloid crisis was a strange one for her. Having not known she was a Vocaloid until the military had literally dragged her out of her home, she was ill-equipped to formulate any opinions on the matter. All she knew was that she didn't like the idea of taking someone from their family just because they were different.

She didn't notice the expression of sadness that darkened the woman's eyes as she mentioned how her mother had sent her away to live with Uta, or her frown when she said the soldiers had arrived a day early. Nor did she catch when a single tear made its way down the woman's face as she spoke about how unfair it was that someone would have to up and leave their entire life just because some unseen man in a suit and tie said so.

Teto spoke for a long time about everything she could think of, until finally she could think of nothing else to say. She was debating on whether or not the finer points of hair drill care would be an interesting topic when the woman broke her silence.

"You've had an… interesting life. That's for sure" she said, chuckling a bit. "How ever did you manage to forget that you blew up your house _twice_?"

Teto managed a small smile, the woman's happy demeanor putting her somewhat at ease. "I'm still trying to figure it out, I guess. It's a little weird when suddenly you just kind of wake up in a place like this."

"You're taking it quite well, considering" said the woman.

"I guess… maybe" said Teto, unsure. "I think I might actually not be, though."

"What do you mean?" the blonde woman asked. "You're doing great for someone suffering from burnout."

"That's just it, though" Teto said. "Ever since I woke up I've felt… weird. Like, I think I'm actually super scared right now, but I'm not really feeling it the right way. My body feels really heavy, too, like I can't move my arms without dragging them and I'm really tired all over."

The woman smiled. "Don't worry, that's normal for someone in your position. Burnout is what happens when a Vocaloid overexerts their powers too much. You're basically running on empty right now. You feel tired and sore all over because your body is literally out of energy. It'll take some time, but it'll wear off."

"You… seem like you know a lot" said Teto.

"I was studying to be a doctor before my music career took off."

Teto paused for a moment, frowning slightly. Something about that statement…

"Your music career?" she asked, suddenly feeling like she knew exactly where she had seen this woman before. "What did you say your name was, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I didn't, but it's Lily" she said, smiling. I don't know if you'd have heard of me. I was-"

Teto wasn't listening. She had frozen up, her jaw dropped and her hands not sure what to do with themselves. "I… you… you're…"

Suddenly a huge grin made its way onto her face.

"Lily? As in _the_ Lily!? Of course I've heard of you! You're like the most famous pop star ever! I have every one of your albums!" she completely neglected the fact that those albums were probably nothing more than ashes now.

"Ohmygosh, I love you! Your music is the best!" she let out a fangirlish squeal and her eyes widened. "Can I have your autograph? Oh, Uta will never believe me when I tell her! My name's Teto, by the way. Oh wow, where's a piece of paper when you need one?"

She couldn't believe her luck! What were the chances that she would meet such a celebrity here of all places? Lily's concerts were legendary. She did all of her own lighting and special effects live on stage with Vocal power. She had wanted to go to one of her shows for years, but the tickets were always too expensive for her or her mother to afford on their limited income.

But then a thought occurred to her. She was meeting Lily _here_ of all places…

"You're a… _Vocaloid_ pop star…" she said, the gears turning. "Wait… that means… they've got you locked up here too?"

Lily smiled sadly. "I'm afraid so. Being a star didn't put me above the letter of the law. I'm still a Vocaloid, after all."

As the initial surprise wore off, Teto became aware that her excitement had brought back her headache in full force. She grimaced, both from the pain, and from the realization of how horrible it was that Lily's career could just be uprooted like that.

"You mean… they just… threw you in here? What about your fans? What about your music?" asked Teto.

A flash of something that Teto couldn't quite catch flitted across Lily's features before it was gone. She forced a smile. "That's the long and short of it, I suppose. It's been… hard, I won't deny that, but I like to think I'm managing it pretty well."

Teto wasn't listening. Her brow was creased in thought. A thought was taking shape inside of her. "That… that's awful" she said quietly.

"I'm sorry? What was that?" said Lily.

"That's terrible!" said Teto, a bit of anger in her voice. For some reason, the idea of Lily being taken from her life and forced to live imprisoned had struck a chord somewhere in Teto's mind. Something about it made her inexplicably furious.

Lily didn't seem to be registering Teto's words, her face had gone pale. "Stop talking" she said.

"What? Why? It's awful!" said Teto.

"Teto, really, stop talking right now."

"No! They can't just do that to you!"

"I believe you'll find that we can" came a voice from behind her.

**************************Tuesday, August 31st, 'V' Day****************************

Uta was torn between a desire to either jerk her hand back violently, or run away very fast. Unable to do the first without seeming extremely rude, and unable to do the second because of the steel bars blocking the exit, she settled on uncertainly returning the man's handshake instead.

His hands were large, nearly enveloping her own and making them seem positively dainty in comparison. They were also very rough, the calluses hinting at an extensive time spent playing guitar.

His smile was just a little creepy. Wait, no, scratch that, it was borderline terrifying. It was a wide, face-stretching grin that reached his eyes, lending them an almost insane glint. It looked as if at any moment he could, and would not hesitate to, rip someone's throat out with his teeth and gleefully bathe in their blood.

Thankfully, he did neither of these things and instead released Uta's hand and proceeded to smile like a normal person. Uta, for her part, tried to act nonchalant about the whole thing, all while simultaneously trying not to scream.

Picking up on her internal struggle, the man decided to ease up on the mental patient routine a little bit.

"My name, I mean" he said, without even a hint of crazy in his voice.

"Huh?" said Uta, a bit frazzled.

"My name is Madra, but you can call me Mad" he said.

"Wha-? Oh, yeah, right. Your name, yeah. I knew that's what you meant" she lied, fooling absolutely no one, including herself.

Mad walked back over to the bench he had been sleeping on and sat down, cracking various joints and stretching in large, over-exuberant motions.

"Oh, man…" he sighed. "That's the best nap I've had in ages."

Uta looked at him, then looked at the concrete slab he had been using as a bed. If he considered _that_ to be a good nap, what on earth did he usually sleep on?

"Sleep on a lot of cement bricks, do you?" she asked.

"When the mood hits me" he replied, without missing a beat.

Uta wasn't sure how to respond to that. This "Mad" was rapidly climbing her personal creep-o-meter. On the bright side, she only had to be stuck in here with him for a little under four more hours, assuming that he had arrived only slightly before her.

"So, what are you in for?" he asked, somehow seeming like he was quite used to this whole process.

"Assault" said Uta.

Mad looked surprised, in an appraising sort of way. "Huh. Impressive. Get any good hits in?" he asked conversationally.

"No, unfortunately" Uta said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure your technique will improve" he said.

Uta quirked an eyebrow. Did he seriously think that she was planning on having this be a recurring event? "Oh yeah? What would you suggest?" she knew he was full of crap, of course, but for whatever reason, she felt compelled to go along with the train of conversation.

"Go straight for the low blow. Throws em' off balance" he said, smiling mischievously.

Uta tried to suppress the sudden urge to laugh, and only just succeeded. In spite of herself, she had to admit that the guy had a certain rough type of charm to him. He definitely knew how to drain the tension out of a room.

"What did they, uh, pinch you for?" she asked, trying to remember how career criminals were supposed to talk. She wasn't sure why she bothered. This guy obviously wasn't.

"Oh, vagrancy, public drunkenness… indecent exposure." He winked suggestively.

"Oh, so you _are_ a hobo" said Uta.

"Please. I would hardly describe such a well-traveled and roguishly charming individual as myself that way" he said, feigning offense.

"Good thing you're not the one describing you then" she said cheekily, managing an actual smile this time.

"Oh, she's witty" he said, pretending to clap slowly.

"And he makes sexual humor around a fifteen year old girl" Uta countered, one eyebrow raised in a smirk.

He actually threw his head back and laughed at this. "Oh, bravo, Miss, bravo" he said, slapping a knee. "In my defense, you act a lot older than that."

"I bet that's what you tell all the ladies" said Uta, still smirking.

He shook his head slowly, a little disbelievingly, a smile still present on his lips. "You are an interesting one. I don't meet someone who can compete with me in a battle of sarcasm very often."

He matched her smirk with one of his own.

"You know what? I like you."

"Don't get too friendly there, Romeo" said Uta. "I'm still a minor."

"No, I mean it" he said, genuinely. "You remind me of someone I knew a long time ago. If I didn't know any better I'd say you two were related."

"Maybe we are" said Uta. "You never know, the world's a small place sometimes. Stranger things have happened."

"Not likely, unless your last name happens to be Utane."

A sudden silence fell over the room. Uta's smile melted off her face in an instant. She was suddenly very wary of the man in front of her, who somehow inexplicably seemed to know her surname.

"How do you know my last name?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

Mad's jaw dropped, all of his bravado gone in an instant, replaced by complete shock. "There's no way in hell" he said. "You're messing with me right now, right?"

"I'm afraid not" said Uta. "Care to tell me what the hell is going on?"

"You're sure you're in the right Utane family? I mean, not that it's a common name or anything, I guess. Is your father Roger Utane?"

"That's him" she replied. "But that doesn't answer my question."

"And that'll have to wait, unfortunately" he said, standing up. Suddenly he was all business. "I have to speak with your father as soon as humanly possible. It's why I'm in town, actually."

Uta made to speak up but Mad held up a hand to silence her. "I promise I can explain later, probably with a little help from your Dad. He's obviously neglected to provide you with some important details if you really don't know why I'm here. For right now, though, we need to get out of here."

Uta just stared at him. She raised one eyebrow, not sure what he was playing at. "In case you were unaware, we're in a jail cell. It's kinda the point that we can't just get up and leave." She wasn't sure they should let him out anyways. This guy was obviously playing at something shady. Why would anyone come looking for her father?

"You act like that's a problem" he said, an edge of mischief creeping back into his voice. "C'mon, give me some energy, we're busting out."

Uta would have put that down as 'par for the course' as well, but she was so far beyond confused at this point that it hardly mattered anymore.

"What?"

"Give me some energy. We're getting out of here" he said again.

"And how the hell do you expect me to do that? What does that even mean?" she asked, exasperated.

"You're a Vocaloid, I thought the meaning would be obvious" he said. "Give me a bit of your energy, not a lot, a spark will do it."

"Great! Super! So glad we cleared that up!" said Uta, her sarcasm levels at maximum. "What could possibly be hard to understand about that except for, hmm, I don't know, the part where _I'm not a Vocaloid_!?"

His expression hardened a bit. "Seriously, give me some of your energy. I'm not trying to be funny here."

"Neither am I!" she said, throwing her hands in the air. "Only I'm not a Vocaloid, so it makes sense that I CAN'T give you some of the energy I don't have!"

"You actually expect me to believe that you're not a Vocaloid? Come off it, kid, this is kind of my thing. You _are_ a Vocaloid. I knew it the second I shook your hand."

Uta was becoming annoyed. This guy obviously had no idea what he was talking about. She put a hand to her head. "Look, I don't know what you think you know, but-"

"Give me your hand, I'll prove it" he said. Uta would have thought he was joking, but his expression was completely serious.

"Why should I trust you?" she asked, eying him suspiciously.

"Honestly?" he said, "because I'm here to help."

Uta searched Mad's face. He _looked_ sincere, but that didn't mean a lot. Several seconds of silence passed between them. She sized him up, trying to decide if she should really believe a word of what this guy said, or if it even mattered. It wasn't like this would accomplish anything anyways. After all, she wasn't a Vocaloid.

"Whatever, if it'll get you to shut up, sure" she said, thrusting her hand forward.

He took it, then paused a second. "This may feel a little uncomfortable, just to warn you." Uta rolled her eyes. This was starting to get old very fast. What could he possibly do just by-

An electric shock suddenly ran up Uta's arm, through her shoulder and neck, straight to her head. Her vision went blurry as an explosion of sound echoed through her skull. An instant later, the sensation moved in reverse, back down her arm and out of her body, into his.

She jerked her hand away and scrambled backwards several feet, falling to the floor, where she made no move to regain her footing. Her mind reeled, unable to process what had just occurred. She looked up at Mad with fear in her eyes. That quickly turned to confusion as she saw what was levitating above his outstretched palm.

There, floating in the air, unaided by any visible support, a tiny pinprick of purple light hovered, glowing brightly. Mad smiled a knowing smile.

"See? Nothing to it"

Uta's mouth worked soundlessly, unable to give voice to any coherent thought, not that she was having many coherent thoughts at the moment. After sputtering uselessly for a few seconds, she managed to squeak out: "W-what. The hell. Is that?"

"What are you so worked up about? It's just a bit of Vocal energy. Now, you may want to cover your ears for this next part, it's going to be very loud."

"What are you going to do?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh nothing much" he said, smiling deviously. "We're just gonna get a little bit _metal._"

He breathed in a great lungful of air and held it. He looked expectantly at Uta. Shakily, she clamped her hands over her ears. He winked at her again.

Then he screamed at his hand.

There were no words for it. He simply opened his mouth and proceeded to issue forth the most deafening blast of pure, unfiltered sound that she had ever heard.

This was no ordinary scream. Even through her hands, Uta could hear it as if it was blasting directly into her ears, playing her eardrums like bongos. It wasn't a scream of terror, or one of pain. If she had to describe it, there was really only one sound she could compare it to, but the notion was so ridiculous that it was almost laughable.

Power rockers, crowd shockers, howler monkeys, metal junkies, big time dreamers, lyric screamers, emos, screamos, young, old, loud, bold, anyone anywhere who had ever attempted the noble and honorable act of belting out a face melter: he put them all to shame.

The sound, the tremendous screech of power that unleashed itself from Mad's throat, was undeniably the most extreme heavy metal scream that ever had or ever would be heard in all the world throughout the long march of history.

It was a thing of beauty, really, in terms of its volume. It was a testament to the men that built it that the entire building didn't just fall in on itself right then. The walls shook and dust fell from the ceiling.

The sound was obviously something enhanced by Vocal power. It was an almost visible thing, distorting the air in a cone in front of Mad's mouth. Not to mention that the ambient power was almost tangible in the air, making Uta's skin tingle and the hairs on her neck stand on end.

All the while, a most peculiar event was taking place in the palm of Mad's hand.

The small spark of energy that he had somehow commandeered from her was undergoing a remarkable change as the waves of noise assaulted it. It began to shift and change, growing larger at an alarming rate. In seconds it was nearly the size of a basketball, glowing brightly with an intense violet light.

All at once the screaming stopped and Mad took a huge breath of air, having obviously expended every bit he had in his lungs. Breathing deeply, he admired his creation.

The ball of energy pulsed and crackled with barely suppressed power. Small arcs of electricity split the air around it, shooting back and forth across its surface.

Mad got a curious look on his face as he held it, his eyes staring deep inside. He frowned slightly, as if contemplating something strange.

"Well… isn't that interesting…" he intoned under his breath.

Uta would have asked what he meant, but she was still trying to remember how to talk.

Mad cast her a knowing glance, a slight grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Not a Vocaloid, huh?" he said, smirking. "Nice try."

Uta barely heard him, her eyes were still glued to the whirling orb of (presumably) her energy. "W-what the f-… I don't…" She collected herself quickly. "What the hell was _that_?"

"_That_, young lady, is how I got nicknamed 'The Amplifier'. One vocal point booster wave, just what the doctor ordered" he said, smiling.

"A _what_?" stammered Uta, completely lost.

"Look, I'd love to stand here and discuss the finer points of condensing uncompressed alpha wave Vocal energy through auxiliary auditory amplification, and believe me when I say that, but as things stand, we should get moving before that admittedly epic scream draws the attention of every cop in a twenty mile radius."

By this point, Uta's brain had basically told her to go screw herself and had taken a break to gather itself back together from the incomprehensible fiasco this entire situation had rapidly descended into. She nodded dumbly.

"Alright then, stand back, this could get messy" said Mad, turning to face the wall opposite the bars.

Without giving her the chance to actually move at all, he surged forward and shoved the orb of energy directly into the concrete wall. Uta cringed, bracing herself for the coming explosion.

It never happened. Instead, a strange hum filled the air as a large portion of the wall briefly glowed the same bright purple as the orb before completely dissolving into a pile of dust, leaving nothing but an almost perfectly round opening in the solid surface. A few pieces of plaster fell from the edges.

"Ok… or I guess _that_ could happen instead. Huh…" said Mad, scratching his head. "Nevermind! Time to go!" he turned to Uta and held out his hand. "Coming?"

She stared at him with wide eyes, her jaw hanging slack as she accepted the help up. "You really _are_ mad…" she managed.

He winked again "Delightfully."

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Teto spun around quickly to face the source of voice. Several feet away from the other side of her bed stood a man flanked by two others.

He wore a pristinely white coat, like something a doctor or a scientist would wear. It was buttoned up the middle to his neck. It flared out slightly at his hips where the buttons ended, hanging down to his knees. A stethoscope was visible in the chest pocket of the coat. It struck Teto as a bit of a cliché that he would carry one around. Was it a requirement for all doctors to have one of those?

The man himself was a tall, middle-aged fellow. He was going a bit soft around the middle but it wasn't overly noticeable. He sported a magnificently groomed goatee and moustache combo that reminded her a bit of Robin Hood.

His face was creased with deep laugh lines that lent him a distinguished appearance, and his eyes seemed to twinkle with an inner fire. The overall effect gave the impression that one was speaking to someone who had seen the world, and carried its wisdom with him.

But even despite the aura of kindness and knowledge the man seemed to exude, something felt… off. It took Teto a moment to realize that it was the man's smile. Something about the way he grinned, it was as if she were looking at a lion stalking its prey. It looked… hungry, sinister, expectant, like he would love nothing more than to get his hands on the girl in front of him.

It immediately put Teto in a state of unease. She unconsciously drew her hands in close to her body in an involuntary attempt to shield herself from the subtle malice coming from the man in front of her.

He smiled wider, and Teto swore she saw the lion licking its lips.

"Oh, pardon me" he said, his voice mellow with a slight hint of an accent that she couldn't place. "I was just coming to check up on a few of the patients in the ward when, to my surprise, I see that Teto Kasane has finally decided to rejoin the land of the living."

Teto frowned, she didn't like his tone of voice one bit.

"Who are you? Why do you know my name?" she asked warily.

"Oh gracious me, but I've forgotten my manners!" he said, feigning embarrassment. He bowed deeply. "I am Doctor Akita, head researcher of this facility. As for how I know your name, little girl, I think you'll find that I know quite a lot about you, even if it is far less than I would like."

Teto didn't like the sound of that at all.

"Though I expect that to change in the coming weeks and months" he continued. He smiled wider at the look of apprehension on Teto's face. "Oh yes, I suspect we'll be the best of friends, you and I."

Teto was becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second. She felt like the man was sizing her up like a piece of meat, deciding which portions looked the best.

"You see, I've been keeping a close eye on you, Miss Kasane. Ever since I heard what transpired in your home town a week ago, I can't deny that I have taken a special interest in you. It's not every day you find a girl capable of creating a category six Vocal Event. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever wake up. Burnout victims commonly recover within hours, not days, after all.

He paused.

"Then again… I suppose that there isn't much that's common about you, is there?" he asked no one in particular. "In all my years as a scholar and researcher of Vocaloidism I've never seen a case quite like yours."

His grin grew almost imperceptibly wider as he said this, the expression on his face almost… anticipatory? Teto grew all the more worried as his gaze never left her, his eyes moving over every inch of her body with voracity.

Suddenly, he seemed to realize what he was doing. He blinked once before his attitude settled back into a more subdued state.

"Oh, listen to me, rambling on" he said. "There will plenty of time for that later. For now, you need your rest. I suspect you'll need it."

With that ominous declaration he turned around and began to walk away, his two assistants following in his wake. As he reached the door, however, he paused, turning around for a moment.

"Oh, and Miss Lily?" he said, getting Lily's attention. "Do keep an eye on her for me, won't you? Wouldn't want her getting lost."

And then he was gone, leaving Teto to wonder what he had in store for her. With the man out of the room, Teto looked down at herself and was surprised to find that she was shaking. She turned her hands over in front of her eyes, watching them tremble, as if her body knew something that her emotions couldn't register.

She turned and looked at Lily. The former pop star hadn't taken her eyes off the door where Doctor Akita had left. Her jaw was set and she was visibly grinding her teeth together in anger.

"Who was that?" asked Teto.

"_That_" Lily practically spat, as if the man had been a thing rather than a person, "was Doctor Rossegar Akita, head researcher at this facility, and the most vile, poisonous, corrupt man on the face of this planet."

"I didn't like him very much" said Teto. That was an understatement.

"You'll come to like him a lot less, I expect" said Lily, finally shifting her gaze from the door and back to Teto. Her expression changed from one of anger to one of worry as she looked at the girl in front of her.

"Listen, that guy? He's not a good person. He's an evil, manipulative, sick son of a bitch and you need to be careful around him."

Teto was slightly taken aback. Sure, he hadn't seemed like the nicest guy, or the least creepy, either, but Lily made him sound like a rapist or something. Then again, that look in his eyes…

Teto suddenly had a very acute sense of being very unsafe.

"You don't mean… he's not going to…" she tried, unable to voice her fears properly, her hands trembling worse than ever.

"What? He's not going to what…?" Lily said. "What do you mean?"

"Is he… is going to… to… ra… ra…" she couldn't say it. The idea was too appalling, too horrifying to imagine.

Lily still looked confused. "Ra…?"

"You know… to me… with his…"

Lily's eyes popped wide in realization, then she sneered. "Not likely. The bastard's got too much of a God complex for that. To him, none of us are worth as much as the dirt on his shoes."

She paused for a second, seeming to be debating with herself.

"He's a… scientist. He likes to… ugh… _experiment_." She didn't speak the last word so much as growl it, her mouth turned down in a grimace.

Teto _definitely_ didn't like the sound of that.

Lily continued. "Oh, on the outside he puts on the face of the good guy. He's everyone's friend when it suits him. But If you gave him the chance?" she shuddered. "He'd dissect you and every single person you've ever met, just to satisfy his twisted mind."

Teto would have been on the verge of hyperventilating at this point, had she been able to properly experience fear. As it was, she had broken out in a cold sweat as Lily spoke, each sentence driving her body to a slightly higher state of panic.

"You sound like you… like you know a lot about him" she ventured.

Lily smiled bitterly. "Yeah, well, let's just say we have history, he and I."

She sighed wistfully. "There was a time when I thought he was one of the most brilliant men in the world. I guess he still is, even if it's in all the wrong ways."

A few moments of awkward silence passed between them. Teto didn't know what to say. Obviously it was somewhat of a touchy subject.

Lily looked at her again. "We're in Medley's Vale, but in the past week, that man has earned it a different name among the residents here.

"W-what is it?" asked Teto, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Lily gave her a humorless smile. "We call it 'Deadly' Vale."

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

It was nearing one o' clock AM in the Utane household. Roger Utane had been sitting up late, volunteering to wait out the night and retrieve his daughter from the city police station while urging his wife to try and get some sleep.

The day had been taxing for the both of them. Uta certainly had some explaining to do when she got home. The stuttering, hodgepodge account he'd gotten over the phone really hadn't told him anything other than that his daughter was in quite a bit of trouble, and would be spending the night in a holding cell.

He sighed. Of all the things in his life, he had feared his child's teenage years the most. Uta had always been a strong, opinionated girl, and it was becoming very clear that she would soon become a strong, opinionated young woman. He hoped that this wasn't just the first of many such occurrences to come, and that whatever had transpired had been the product of hormone-induced teenage nearsightedness.

A knock at the door pulled him out of his reverie. Scowling, he set down the newspaper he'd been perusing and made his way to the entryway. _Who in their right mind would be knocking on our door at this time of night?_ he thought, peering through the peephole.

What he glimpsed through the glass was just about the last thing he had expected, or wanted, to see.

Throwing the door open wide, he took in the pair before him. One bore an expression of complete and utter resignation to being confused for the remainder of eternity, while the other wore what was obviously supposed to be a winning smile.

"Rocky!" said Mad jovially, throwing his arms wide, presumably for a hug. Roger made absolutely no attempt to accept the gesture, his face slowing turning from complete bewilderment to barely suppressed rage.

"YOU!" he spat, glaring daggers at the man.

"Yeah… that's about what I expected…" Mad sighed, arms dropping back uselessly to his sides. Uta said nothing.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here!?" Uta's father practically yelled. "And why is my daughter with you!?"

Mad scratched the back of his head, sheepishly. "Eheh… Ok, here's the thing. Now, don't be angry, but…"

************************************?*************************************

_Floating…_

Darkness.

_Gently_…

It was oppressive. Crushing blackness pushed in on her from all sides, threatening to swallow her up. But she couldn't let that happen. She had to get out. She had to find her.

_Flying to you love…_

Suddenly, a light in the void. She struggled towards it with all of her strength. If she couldn't get out of here…

_I hope that…_

It was working! She was getting closer! She could almost touch it… Just…

_You see dear…_

A little bit…

_That my love…_

Farther…

_Is true._

She sprang awake with a strangled cry:

"TETO!"

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

I must apologize to you, my readers. I have not been true to you, or myself. I have promised time and again that chapter updates would come faster than they have. Two months is not an acceptable wait time for a single chapter.

Well, I have an announcement to make regarding that. I have made a new years resolution. I will write for a minimum of one hour every single day. I do this not only because I want this story to update faster, but because I want very much to be the best writer I can be.

I have stuck to this now for the better part of January and it is working wonders already. In less than two weeks I finished this chapter. I am making this vow on my honor as an author: This trend will continue. You deserve better than what you have been given, and for that I am sorry. Look forward to brighter times ahead.

Anyways, with all of that emotionally charged crap out of the way, this was one of my favorite chapters. I would very much like feedback on this chapter as I used to it practice character description. Also, anything you'd be willing to tell me on the character of Madra would be greatly appreciated.

This chapter was the first time I've really earned the teen rating due to language. In real life, I curse like a sailor when I'm with my friends, but I'm very picky about where I use these words in my writing. I promise any time they are used, and they will be used, it will be in a tasteful fashion… or for the sake of comedy. Actually it's mostly going to be the second one, and I make no promises in that regard. Comedy is a demanding mistress, and I am subject to her whims.

Now, as promised, here is the next lesson in Lucentian, which is on:

THE WORD "DO"

In Lucentian, the word "do" (pronounced like dough) is used quite commonly. It's basically the same as "the" in English. That isn't to say you'd use it everywhere you would use "the", however.

"Do" is used to declare and separate ideas in sentences. It can only occur in the middle of a sentence when you want to separate two things. For example, since there is no equivalent word for "and" in Lucentian, such a sentence as "the dog and the cat and the mouse ran around" would be difficult to write. This is where "do" comes into play.

That same sentence in Lucentian would be:

"_Docana, dofela, domosa e mota circlo" _ (note that _mota circlo_, which means circular motion, would usually be compounded to _cirmota_)

Translated directly to English, this would be:

"The dog, the cat, the mouse moved circularly."

The most common usage of "do" is to begin a sentence. If you wanted to simply say: "The dog ran around", it would be:

"_Docana e cirmota_."

You use "do" here because you are making a new idea. In an alternate situation, say you wanted to point out to someone that a dog is running in circles. In English you wouldn't just say to no one in particular "The dog is running in circles" because that would sound awkward. Also, since it is something that is already happening without your input, it is not a new idea. If you wanted to alert your friend to the silly animal, you'd point and say "That dog is running in circles." Similarly, in Lucentian it would be:

"_Cana a cirmota."_ Probably while pointing. Since it is a language based largely on context, it would be necessary to point or otherwise draw attention to what you're talking about.

So, that's how you do it. Simple, right?

Next time: Who, what, where, when, why, and how.

On to the music! It's getting harder to find inspiring songs for Teto. People should use her more! Or at least they should be original and not just make her cover the songs of other Vocaloids. Whatever, not the point.

"Circus Monster" – This song by Teto sounded a little creepy to me, but then I thought "meh, that's actually exactly what I want." She's in an unfamiliar place where her entire world has been turned upside down, so a bit of creepiness is in order.

Link to youtube video: watch?v=eos73QNHINI

"Lily Lily Burning Night" – A fair number of you have probably heard this before, it's just Lily's take on Luka's "Luka Luka Night Fever", but I love it. This is Lily's character theme for this story. She's a pop star, it's a poppy kind of song… there you go.

Link to youtube video: watch?v=z2ZKq-IESTY

"Motorhead" – No, not the band, it's the name of the song. The band's name is Amplifier, because that's just the most perfect thing I could have asked for. In case it wasn't obviously, this is Mad's theme. I hope you like him, because I do.

Link to youtube video: watch?v=3YLqCb09JC8

That's it for this update! As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

As a special disclaimer for this chapter, I must ask my readers to refrain from screaming at their hands. It will NOT, I repeat, it will NOT manifest any sort of Vocal power, and you'll just look (and sound) really stupid, believe me, I've tried.

On that note, happy reading, and as always, reviews are greatly appreciated.

Also: "Deadly Vale" Ha! God, that's so corny.

AnarchySong, signing off!


	15. From Bad to Worse!

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…but the story is totally mine.

**********************************Chapter 15***********************************

"I cannot believe you!" Luka yelled, gesticulating wildly as she, Miku, Rin, and Len made their way carefully through the various backstreets and alleys of Clonderwell city's seedy underbelly, away from any prying eyes.

"What the hell were you thinking, running off like that?! What if you'd gotten hurt, or lost? _Oniigasen a napermo _Miku, what if someone had alerted the military!?" She continued, slipping into her native language in her anger.

"Geez, sorry _mom_…" muttered Miku, rolling her eyes.

She received a slap to the back of her head for her trouble. "I don't need any backtalk out of you, young lady." Luka snorted, looking for all the world like an angry mother despite her annoyance.

Rin snickered, whispering something to Len, who laughed as well.

"And don't even get me started on you two!" said Luka, rounding on them. The twins' grins melted off of their faces as they suddenly became the targets of the Vocaloid master's ire. "Stealing someone's wallet like some common pickpocket, children these days! Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"

Rin huffed and crossed her arms. "Lady, the 'I'm angry because I care' act is really flattering and all" she said, making little air quotes with her fingers, "but I don't think you realize who you're talking to. You don't really seem so stupid that you haven't guessed it yet, but we don't _have_ parents."

If Luka felt bad about insulting a pair of orphans, she didn't show it. She huffed and crossed her arms as well. "I was _trying_ to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I suppose miscreants such as yourselves don't put much stock in proper manners." She looked Rin up and down, scowling, and added: "Obviously."

"Manners… pfft. Big talk coming from someone dressed like a hooker" came Rin's almost immediate retort.

Half a second later Miku was struggling to hold her mentor back as Luka's eyes blazed and she waved her arms wildly, clawing the air in her attempt to get at the little demon in front of her.

"I'll show you manners!" Luka yelled. "Or at least teach you some! Let go of me, Miku!"

For her part, Rin looked remarkably unfazed, her arms crossed and her jaw set defiantly. The same could not be said for Len, who seemed to be trying his hardest to fuse with the wall of the alley in an attempt to put himself as far from the enraged woman as possible.

"You don't get it, do you?" Rin continued condescendingly. "This isn't the kind of place where 'nice, well-mannered children' live. This isn't where picture perfect little families come on a Sunday drive. This is the real world, and it sucks."

Luka yanked herself away from Miku indignantly, snorting in annoyance as she straightened her clothes. She cast a sideways glance at the young blonde girl.

"The 'real world'?" she said incredulously. "Please. I've seen the 'real world', believe me, and it's nothing like this. This city's in bad shape, I'll give you that, but I've seen far worse."

A shadow flashed across Rin's face as anger creased her brow. "In bad shape? _In bad shape?_ That's what you call this hellhole? I think you need your head examined, Pinky."

Luka brushed some of the aforementioned pink out of her eyes as she replied. "I'm serious. This place is bad, that much is clear from what Miku and I went through at the Department of Vocaloid Affairs, and while it burns me up, it still isn't _that_ terrible. Everything's still intact, isn't it? I didn't see any broken windows or looted stores. There aren't riot police roaming the streets with packs of dogs. You should be thankful that it isn't worse."

Miku felt pretty sure that Luka was still letting the hooker comment get to her. It sounded like she was just trying to argue for the sake of arguing. She had been way angrier over the state of things earlier when they had left the DVADC.

She didn't like it when Luka got like this. She was acting petty, and that was something that she was sure her teacher wasn't. Then again, it was probably only because of the fiery young blonde girl currently standing opposite her that she was acting this way. Miku had to admit, the girl had a mouth on her.

"You think that's how it is?" Rin spat back. "You think this city _isn't_ like that!? Lady you've only seen the good side of town!"

Luka looked only slightly taken aback. "The _good_ side of town? What, there _are _packs of dogs and all that? Because I sure didn't see any-"

"No, that's not it" said Rin.

"That's what I've been-"

"I meant that it's way worse than that."

Luka paused, her mouth working soundlessly for a few moments. Her eyes roamed over Rin's features, looking for any hint of dishonesty. Her pulse quickened slightly when she found none.

Her anger over Rin's abrasive comments quickly ebbed away, her expression fading to one of apprehension. Something in the way Rin carried herself told her that the girl was being completely frank with her.

It scared her a little bit.

"You aren't lying, are you?" she asked slowly.

"Caught on finally?" said Rin, her gaze as hard as steel. "No, I'm not lying. This city's in a lot worse shape than just 'bad'."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You want to see bad? I'll show you bad. Follow me."

With that she turned and began to march purposefully towards a manhole cover, unremarkable but for the large red 'X' that had been spray painted onto the top. Bending down, she lifted it with ease. She dropped it next to the hole, where it landed with a loud clang of metal on asphalt.

"After you" she said.

It was Miku's turn to speak up now.

"You can't be serious" she said, eyeing the dark portal with disgust. "That's a sewer."

"Yeah, and it's also one of the only ways into the south side since the barricades went up" Rin responded. She held her hands up in a shrug. "If you're too scared of getting your clothes dirty you can just stay here."

"Afraid of- Hey! I'm not some kind of girly girl over here!"

"I'll believe it when I see it, pigtails."

With that Rin nimbly jumped down into the hole, disappearing as her white bow whipped out of sight.

"That little jerk is cruisin' for a bruisin'" Miku said menacingly, cracking her knuckles as she ran forward and looked down. She couldn't see anything past the rim. Everything beyond was shrouded in complete darkness.

"What's the holdup, piggy?" came Rin's obnoxious voice from below.

"I'm gonna kill her, I swear" muttered the offended teen as she jumped down as well.

Luka shook her head as she watched the back and forth between the two girls, sighing as she began to make her own way towards the hole. It never stopped with kids. She was going to go grey early at this rate. As she reached the edge of the hole, a voice from behind made her pause.

"She's not really so bad once you get to know her" said Len. Luka turned and looked at him quizzically. "My sister, I mean. She likes to get people riled up, but she doesn't mean anything by it.

He smiled and pointed towards the open manhole. "It's really not so bad down there, either. This part of the sewers hasn't been used in years, so it's actually pretty clean. Watch out for the ladder, though. The fifth rung down is missing."

"I'll keep that in mind" she replied, carefully maneuvering herself down onto the metal steps. As she made her way down (avoiding the fifth step, which was indeed missing), she paused, looking back up at the blonde boy.

"It's Len, right?"

He nodded. Luka smiled sheepishly in response.

"I'm not really that bad once you get to know me either, promise. I just get angry when people call me a hooker."

With that she climbed the rest of the way down into the murky darkness. Stepping down onto cracked concrete, she took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the gloom.

The hole led down into what appeared to be a large drainage tunnel. Cement walkways lined either side of the rounded passage, and it extended farther than she could see in either direction, which wasn't saying much since the darkness only allowed for about twenty feet of visibility.

There was a strong smell of disuse about the place. The bowl of the tunnel was dry, the concrete darkly stained where water used to flow. Small patches of moss grew in the corners, and there were copious amounts of dust that swirled and spiraled in the column of light shining down from the open manhole.

She could hear voices just a little ways down the tunnel, undoubtedly Rin and Miku still arguing. A noise above her caught Luka's attention and she moved out of the way to allow Len space to climb down as well. He pulled the cover back into place with a clang as he came down, plunging the tunnel into almost complete darkness.

Momentarily robbed of her vision, she blinked when a beam of light shone into her face from a flashlight that Len was holding in his teeth. His hands fished around on his person for a moment before he produced a second one, which he handed to Luka.

"You sure carry a lot of stuff on you" remarked Luka, remembering the smoke pellets he had pulled out earlier.

He spat the light into his hand and grinned, his teeth barely visible in the darkness. "Yeah, well, when you survive mostly off of stealing what you need, it helps to have deep pockets" he said, patting the sides of his cargo shorts. "This is even a slow day. You should see the things I've been able to cram in here before."

Luka was about to reply, but was cut short as the form of Rin suddenly materialized out of the gloom. She clicked on a flashlight of her own and shone it on the pair. "Are you two gonna be joining us any time soon? I'd like to get there something before the next ice age."

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming" said Luka, biting back a retort as she remembered what Len had said. "Where's my boneheaded apprentice?"

Rin jerked a thumb behind her. "The piggy's back there. She nearly pissed her pants when the lights went out."

"I did not!" came Miku's cry of indignation from somewhere behind them. "Just wait till my eyes adjust you little squirt! When I find you I'm gonna- Gah!"

There was the sound of shoes scrabbling on concrete followed by a thud. "ARGH!" yelled Miku. "Who put a wall here!?"

Luka sighed and put a hand to her face. "Ok, in her defense, she's not usually _this_ boneheaded." She straightened up and called into the darkness: "Stop trying to move around! You'll only hurt yourself!"

"Screw you! I'm gonna tear that twerp a new- ouch!" she yelped, having obviously run into the same wall again.

"Case in point…" said Luka, sighing again. She turned to Len. "Don't suppose you have another flashlight in there?" she thought about it for a moment. "Or maybe a helmet?"

Rin snickered as she reached into her own pocket and pulled out another light. Clicking it on, she threw it into the dark of the tunnel. "Hey piggy! Catch!"

"Wha- Ah!" Miku yelled again, the flashlight bouncing off her skull. "RAAAARGH! I am going to murder you!"

Rin shook with laughter, holding her sides as Miku cursed. She turned to Luka. "I see you've taught her a lot" she said, wiping a tear out of her eye.

Luka grit her teeth together as she shot a narrow-eyed glare at Len. He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"As much fun as it is to watch the wall-smacking wonder over there work her magic, I still have a point to prove" said Rin, throwing a pointed glance at Luka. "Let's go."

She turned and started walking down the tunnel. As she passed Miku picking up the flashlight, she tapped her on the right shoulder then proceeded to quickly walk by on her left. Miku spun around confusedly before snarling and giving chase. Rin cackled evilly as she ran ahead.

"I thought you said she gets better" Luka hissed at Len.

"People don't usually make it so easy for her to insult them" said Len. "Your friend's too good for her to pass up."

Luka crossed her arms as the sounds of Miku's rage echoed off the walls. "I suppose you have a point."

"Come on, we'd better catch up before they leave us behind" said Len, walking ahead.

"I'm more worried about them killing each other" replied Luka, as she followed behind him.

*********************************Elsewhere******** ****************************

Haku Yowane's foot tapped impatiently. Ruko was precisely…

She checked the time display on the terminal in front of her.

…three minutes and forty-two seconds late with her report. Dammit. What was it with her underlings and their seeming inability to keep a consistent schedule? She had never been the kind of person who liked to be kept waiting, and it was starting to get on her nerves.

Almost as if sensing the woman's growing irritation, a transmission suddenly came up on the screen. Haku smirked; sometimes life was funny like that. The grin disappeared as fast as it had come. Ruko had better have a damn good reason for keeping her waiting. Kaito was one thing, but she had come to expect better from her number one scout.

She tapped a button on her headset and a video display popped up. There was Ruko, as she should have been nearly five minutes ago, standing in a deferent bow.

"Milady-" she spoke. Haku interrupted her.

"Finally decided to call, I see" she said, her tone cold.

"I assure you, I have a _very_ good explanation-" Ruko tried again. Again she was cut off.

"I've come to expect this sort of thing from that hopeless buffoon Kaito, but I'm surprised at you, Ruko. I've never known you to be the kind to be anything but punctual. I have a very tight schedule to keep, you know. It doesn't help when my subordinates can't adhere to their own."

"Yes, Milady. I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but if you would just let me-"

"Honestly, it's nearly impossible to find good help these days. What do you think I pay you for? I expect a certain level of competence from those in my employ and I must say that displaying such a disregard for proper timing is really very-"

"Dammit Haku would you shut up and flippin' listen to me?!" yelled Ruko, dropping all pretense of formality. "I've been your information specialist for how many years now? In that time I have maintained a virtually flawless record. Don't you think that if I'm late for one report I might have a good reason for it?"

Haku blinked a few times, taken aback. "Yes… well… um… very well. Let's uh… let's hear it then."

"God you are bad about that sometimes" continued Ruko, crossing her arms. "I swear when you get into your 'leader' mode you get such a stick up your ass."

"Just give me the damn report already" Haku deadpanned.

"Ok, get this. That woman you asked me to find? Well, it turned out to be quite a bit harder than I thought it would. I've seen a lot of people who are very good at hiding themselves, and I've still found every single one of them, but I've never seen anyone like this Luka character. The woman's a flippin' ghost. In the last six days, I have been losing sleep over how little results I've turned up."

Ruko poked herself in the chest for emphasis.

"Me. This is _me_ we're talking about here. This does not happen. There's always something. No one is capable of completely disappearing. But _this_ lady? Holy crap Haku. Where did you ever meet someone like this? No, wait, scratch that. _How_ did you ever meet someone like this? How did you ever find her in the first place to have a conversation?"

Ruko composed herself slightly.

"Anyways, going off of what background info you gave me about your stint as the _sigas algrimo_, I was able to dig up some dirt."

She held up a folder full of newspaper clippings and whistled in an impressed fashion.

"You two got up to some crazy stuff. Half of the things in here I'm inclined to not believe and the other half I would have thought were impossible if I didn't know you personally. Still, 95 percent of these are from over a decade ago, and the rest are just anniversary pieces."

She grimaced slightly.

"Also, they're all written in _Lucentian_" she said with a sigh. "I shouldn't have to tell you how much I hate eastern languages. But here's the real kicker: even after I finished reading all of these wonderful pieces of writing in a language that's adapted for _speaking_, I had absolutely nothing to show for my trouble. I was still no closer to finding this woman."

Haku was impressed. Ruko hardly ever got this worked up about a mark. She really must have taken it as a blow to her pride that she was hardly able to find out anything about her former partner. She hadn't seen the dark-haired woman get so excitable in ages.

Ruko jabbed a finger at the screen.

"You know how much I hate relying on chance for a lead, and I sure as hell don't believe in any sort of divine intervention, but if there's a God, then a-flippin'-men to him, because that's just about the only thing I can think of to describe this as."

She took a deep breath.

"I was seriously worried that I was going to have to disappoint you for the first time ever, but then not fifteen minutes ago I saw something that I swear I will never forget for the rest of my life. I was on my way back here and I kid you not, I literally just walked past her. There was some sort of commotion in an alleyway and I went to look and… there she was, just standing there, eyes glowing and everything."

At this point Haku interrupted. "Wait… you're telling me you just _stumbled_ across her? She was just there in Clonderwell? Ruko I don't think you understand who we're dealing with here. Luka Megurine has not been seen anywhere by anyone in almost twelve years. The odds of her just popping up conveniently in front of you at the exact moment you're looking for her are astronomical. Are you _absolutely_ sure that it was her?"

Ruko pointed to her right eye. The red orb pulsed slightly with an inner glow.

"This doesn't lie, Haku. It was her, I'm sure of it."

Haku contemplated that for a moment. Ruko certainly had a point. Her eye was one of a kind. It possessed the ability to track the Vocal energy signature of any Vocaloid, and she had never known it to be wrong. It was the reason Haku valued her so much. If a Vocaloid had used any Vocal power in an area, it would leave a residual trail that lingered for days, invisible to the naked eye, and even to the enhanced sight afforded to users of Vocal Vision. Ruko, with her special optics, was the only person alive that she had ever encountered that was able to see it.

Simply put, there was no one better than her when it came to finding people, Vocaloids in particular. If she said that it was Luka, then that meant it was her.

"I see…" muttered Haku, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I never expected… I would have thought that she…" she shook her head. "Never mind, it's not important. If you say you've found her then I believe you. The question is what to do now that we know where she is… hmm…"

The pair sat in silence for a moment while Haku contemplated her next course of action. Finally, she spoke.

"I… would like it better if she could be convinced to join us... It's an understatement to say that she would be a valuable ally, and I cannot deny that I still hold her very dear to my heart." _Even though at the same time I loathe her more than any other being on this planet…_ She stiffened slightly. There are certain things that cannot be forgiven, wounds that time alone cannot heal. Luka had betrayed her trust in a way that she feared no apology could ever undo, but she could not pretend that the woman had not at one time been the closest thing she'd ever had to family…

Caution was paramount in her next orders. She couldn't let sentimentality get in the way of progress.

"And if she refuses?" Ruko asked, raising an eyebrow.

Haku's eyes narrowed. "Persuade her."

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Uta sat in one of the chairs in her own living room, staring blankly at the wall across from her. Slowly, she reached her hand over and pinched the flesh on her arm, thinking that maybe, just maybe, this was all a dream, or some sort of awful hallucination.

The last ten minutes had done absolutely nothing to answer any of the questions raging around inside her head, as they had been spent watching Mad explain the chain of events that had led them there in the first place.

Her father, for the most part, had been in a constant state of suppressed rage since they had shown up at his door in the middle of the night with naught but Mad's smile and a rambling, hardly believable story accompanying them.

He hadn't sat down the entire time, pacing the floor as Mad spun his tale of how they had busted out of jail to deliver an important message to him. The anger on his face steadily grew in intensity until he was practically shaking with fury. Finally, it seemed as if he could take no more and he interrupted Mad's whimsical retelling of their daring escape.

"-and I'm not sure exactly how the wall just disappeared, but it was pretty awesome all the same. Kind of reminded me of that one time when you shot those fireworks off in the middle of that restaurant and that waitress' hair just-"

"Ok! That's all I can take!" yelled Roger Utane. "You've been going on for almost ten minutes and I'm still no closer to understanding what the hell is going on here!"

Mad paused in his discourse for a moment and looked at him. "Well, I was _trying_ to tell you before you interrupted me and made me forget where I was in the story. Great, now I'll have to start over."

"Don't you dare" said Roger. "It's bad enough that you even have the gall to show your face in my home of all places. I don't need any of your infuriating shtick making it worse. Let's just cut to the chase, alright? Why are you here?"

Mad crossed his arms, a bemused expression on his face as he appraised the irate form of the man before him. He smiled a knowing smile.

"Cynical as always, I see" he chuckled.

"Only where you're concerned, because I already know that whatever you're here about is destined to end badly" Roger countered, crossing his own arms and scowling. "I'm especially pessimistic considering my daughter seems to have been caught up in this."

"Speaking of your daughter, she's a real hoot" said Mad, glancing at Uta. "I can definitely see the family resemblance. She talks just like you used to, you know, sarcastic and witty as all get out."

A flash of something like the tiniest of all smiles flitted briefly across Roger's face before it settled once again into its seemingly perpetual state of irritation. "I'm warning you, Mad; I don't want her mixed up in any of your… _escapades_. I will not have my daughter gallivanting off to who-knows-where with a madman."

"What's the big deal?" asked Mad, leaning back leisurely in his chair. "If you ask me the girl looks like she could use an adventure." He turned to Uta again. "How about it, Uta?"

With a click, a handgun appeared suddenly in Roger's hand, its gleaming barrel aimed directly at the punk rocker reclining in the chair before him.

"Dad!" yelled Uta, startled.

"Quiet, Uta" said the man, his face impassive.

"Wha- where did you get a gun!?" Uta continued, heedless of her father's words.

For someone having said gun pointed at their person, Mad remained quite calm. He intertwined his fingers behind his head and smirked at Uta's father.

"Oh, I suspect you won't find the registration for that particular firearm. I also suspect that if you looked hard enough, you'd find more just like it, and quite a few more unlike it, all over this house." He cocked an eyebrow slightly. "Isn't that right, Rocky?"

"My name is Roger" seethed Uta's father through clenched teeth.

"Not in college it wasn't" countered Mad.

"Cut the crap, Mad. I want to hear you explaining why you're here in the next five seconds or I'm going to have a lot of cleaning up to do." He raised the gun slightly for emphasis.

"Alright, alright" said Mad, holding up his hands. "We'll do it your way."

His expression sobered considerably before he continued. He stared straight into Roger's eyes.

"He's back, Rock."

Roger stood stock still. If Uta hadn't known better, she might have thought he had become a statue. His face paled and took on a queasy pallor as the hand holding the gun shook slightly.

"What did you just say?"

"He. Is. Back." Stated Mad in no uncertain terms.

The gun clattered to the floor as Roger Utane took several steps back. The back of his legs bumped into the edge of a sofa and he quickly sat down, steadying himself with one hand as his other went immediately to his temple.

"Mother of God…" he said, looking almost nauseous. He raised his eyes to meet Mad's again. "And you're sure about that? You are absolutely certain that it's him?"

"Yeah… unfortunately…" said Mad, his tone troubled. "It's the Puppet Man."

"You know this how?" asked Roger.

Mad sighed. "A couple months ago, I got a call from Ember." He held up a hand to silence Roger's words before he spoke. "I know. I couldn't believe little Miss Spitfire was actually talking to me either, but it gets weirder. She said that Star had come to see her. Like in person."

Roger's jaw dropped. "Now I know you're lying."

"Am I?" said Mad. "Why else would Star actually grace one of us with her presence unless it was because she had to? Apparently, something had messed her up pretty bad. She was sporting a few broken ribs. She said she'd tried to kill that yellow-haired chick of hers again. Heru or Neko or whatever her name is. Point is, while she was off on her damn Vendetta she saw him."

Roger's look of incredulity intensified further. "And you believed her?"

"I didn't want to, but then she sent me these."

He reached into one of the pockets of his jacket and extracted several photos paper clipped together. With a flick of his arm, he tossed them to Roger. Scowling, he examined them one by one. Upon seeing the person in the pictures, his eyes widened.

"Good Lord… it _is_ him…"

~V~

Elsewhere, the soft glow of a computer terminal bathed an otherwise dark room in a flickering light. Strong yet feminine hands paused in their incessant typing to move a lock of red hair out of the face of an androgynous man with purple-tinted eyes.

Suddenly, Ritsu Namine sneezed violently. He quickly wiped his nose on a tissue before going back to typing out a message to his superior.

~V~

"Those pictures are from March of this year" said Mad. "He's active again. There's no way that this is just a coincidence, Rock. You know it's never good news when he pops up."

"Miki took these?" said Roger, flipping through the photos again. "How did she… Where could she have possibly…?"

"Does it matter how she got them?" asked Mad. "The point is that we know who we're dealing with."

Roger glanced up at his apparent former friend. "Then I suppose you're here to…"

"Bingo" replied Mad. "If Puppet Man's back, then that means there's something darker at work here than just a government with its head up its ass. If it's him we're dealing with, then you know we've gotta be at least somewhere on his radar. That's why I'm here. We need you and Riko."

Roger exhaled sharply, clenching his eyes shut. "Oh I wish you hadn't just said that…"

Uta's ear twitched, as did her left eye. She turned slowly to her father. "Dad… tell me he's not talking about Teto's mom. Please tell me he's not. Because I'm not sure I can take it if this day gets any weirder.

Roger sighed and looked at Mad. "You couldn't have just waited and come to me privately, could you? You just had to make a scene of it."

Mad grinned. "You know me. I'm a stickler for causing a good scene."

Suddenly he looked a little sheepish. "Plus, I won't deny that I needed some way to get you to cooperate."

Roger furrowed his brow, frowning slightly in Mad's direction. "What do you mean…?"

Mad grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Well… I'm not stupid. I knew that there was no way you'd just agree to this outright."

"I fail to see your point" said Roger, "because I'm still not agreeing to it."

"I'm really sorry, Rock, but I'm gonna have to force your hand on this one. You know how I kind of broke out of jail? Well… correct me if I'm wrong, but Uta joined me in that little adventure, yeah?"

Roger narrowed his eyes, gears beginning to turn in his head. "You... Oh God…"

A knowing grin spread across Mad's face. "So… it stands to reason that- and maybe I'm going out on a limb here- but it stands to reason that this house might be the first place they check while trying to apprehend a suspect that has now technically escaped from police custody and is therefore now considered a fugitive."

"You son of a bitch…"

"We'd better get moving!" said Mad gleefully.

Uta simply stared.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Gumi Megpoid was… feeling very well-rested, actually.

And considering that she was still without her best friend, on the run, and fairly terrified that the military could find her at any given moment? That was saying something.

Then again, if you had to be on the run, she couldn't deny that this was definitely the right way to go about it.

She took a look around the rustic guest bedroom she was currently occupying. Golden morning sunlight streamed through the simple cotton drapes covering the room's only window, illuminating the various family pictures and fading photographs arranged on top of the bedside table. The first one she noticed was decidedly younger-looking Ann smiling broadly in front of the (presumably) newly-opened Sweet Ann's Diner. Gumi was pretty sure she'd spotted a larger print of the same photo downstairs.

The smiling face of her savior brought a smile to her own face as well. She breathed in deeply. The room smelled of dust, wood, and long-forgotten memories. It was a comforting scent that brought a sense of tranquility to the green-haired genius. Something about it just told her that she was safe.

Looking to her left, her eyes widened in surprise. On a stool next to the bed were her clothes from the previous day, cleaned, pressed, and folded with small note sitting on top. She picked it up and read:

_These looked a little worse for wear. Hope they're good enough!_

Her jaw dropped as she picked up the cargo shorts she had thought to be completely unsalvageable. Turning it around and running it through her fingers, she could hardly tell it had been damaged in the first place. Good seamstress nothing, this woman was a miracle worker!

One by one she checked the pockets for holes, finding none. She hugged the garment to her chest. God she loved pockets. Sweet, precious, useful pockets. Gumi had never understood the fascination that other girls seemed to have for skinny jeans with nowhere to store things. She was immensely grateful that Ann had managed to fix these shorts. While she appreciated the gesture, Miki's old clothes fit horribly and were far too tight for her tastes.

After getting dressed (oh how she loved the feeling of having her own clothes again!), she made her way downstairs to see if she could find some way to make herself useful. Ann had done so much for her; it was the least she could do to maybe clean up a little or something.

She paused on the landing, however, when she heard raised voices coming from the kitchen. Gumi glanced up at a wall clock conveniently placed on the wall of the stairwell. It was midmorning. Ann and Al should have left for the diner hours ago.

"Ann, they're our family!" came Al's voice. It rumbled with anger. "We've gotta be there for em' in times like these! 'Sides, this is Pa we're talkin' about! We may not get another chance!"

"None of them are any kin of mine!" Ann replied with fire. "After what they've done, it's clear that we ain't no family of theirs neither!"

Al sighed exasperatedly. "Sis, listen ta' yerself. Yer bein' unreasonable."

"Unreasonable nothin'!" she shot back. "Do ah need ta' remind ya' why we left in the first place?"

There was a sound of rustling cloth before Al cut in again.

"Ann I know full well what we went through! Do ya' think I don't get my own reminder every day? It's not like I can just get rid of it!" His tone had a bite to it that didn't fit with his normally genial personality.

After a moment Ann sighed. Gumi could imagine her slumping her shoulders in defeat. "Ah'm sorry, Al. Twasn't right of me ta' say it like that… It's just hard, ya' know? How can ah go back after everythin' that happened?"

Al spoke again, his voice softer. "Just tell me you'll think about it, alright?"

"Ah'll consider it, but ah'm makin' no promises on the matter" said Ann sternly. "Aw, don't give me that look, ya' big baby. C'mere."

Gumi tiptoed the rest of the way down the stairs and peeked around the corner to find Ann and her brother embracing one another. From where she stood, she could only see Ann's face. It bore a tired expression, as if the weight of the world rested particularly heavily on her shoulders today.

Glancing up, she caught sight of Gumi watching them. Rather than look offended, she smiled.

"Well look who's finally awake" she said. "Ah suppose ya' heard a fair bit of that…"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, honestly" said Gumi, blushing in embarrassment at being caught snooping.

"Don't you worry none, Sugar" said Ann with a dismissive wave of her hand. "If we're arguin' loud enough ta' wake the dead, ah suppose it's no surprise we at least woke you. How'd ya' sleep?"

Relieved at the change of subject, Gumi smiled. "Wonderfully, thank you. I can't recall having gotten a better night's rest in months." She gestured down at her clothes. "And I can't believe what you did with these! They're amazing!"

Ann cocked an eyebrow. "Me? Ah didn't do anythin', Sugar. Miki's the one who patched up them duds of yers."

The shock of that statement caused Gumi's jaw to drop. "Seriously?"

Ann and Al shared a knowing look. Ann smirked slightly. "That girl's an odd one, make no mistake, but ah'll be damned if she can't sew like her fingers were needles."

"That ain't all she can do with her fingers" muttered Al jokingly.

Ann rounded on him. "AL! Haven't ya' got a shred of decency? Ah've half a mind ta' wash yer mouth out fer talkin' like that! And in front of our guest, no less!" she waved a hand in Gumi's direction. "Just look what ya' did. The poor thing's red as a tomato!"

Gumi was indeed feeling quite uncomfortable, her cheeks burning a bright crimson at Al's crude humor.

"If'n yer gonna talk like a sailor, then yer gonna work like one too! Ah'm sure there's plenty ta' be done down at the diner!"

Al chuckled as Ann herded him out of kitchen, pushing him towards the front door. She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"I apologize, Miss Gumi!" Al called from the doorway, still grinning. "My sister's just jealous, is all! I- Ow! Hey! Come on now, Ann! I was only kiddin'!"

"Ah don't want ta' hear another word out of you!" she said. "Go on! Git!"

Al laughed heartily as he was shoved through the doorway. Ann slammed the door after him and stormed back into the kitchen.

"That brother of mine…" she said, shaking one fist. "Ah swear sometimes I want ta' tie him up just ta' keep him out of trouble."

"I'm sure he means well" said Gumi helpfully. She was quite sure that Al had only made the joke in the first place to provoke a reaction out of Ann.

"Yeah, well he can mean whatever he pleases when he's alone" said Ann. "When there're decent folks present he should learn ta' keep a lid on it."

Ann looked at the clock, as if actually noticing it for the first time. "Good heavens. Is that the time? I'd best be getting' along after him soon. That discussion of his took a mite longer than ah'd have liked." She frowned for a second. "Well, truthfully ah'd have liked ta' not have had it at all, but that's neither here nor there."

She paused for a second, looking at Gumi.

"Oh, listen to me, prattlin' on about this and that. Ah'm sure you're none too interested in the problems of an old woman like me."

"Oh, I don't mind at all" said Gumi. "Whatever you two were talking about sounded important."

Ann sighed. "Just some old wounds that have started ta' ache again, Sugar. Nothin' ya'll need ta' concern yerself with." She subconsciously rubbed at a spot on her left shoulder as she spoke, kneading the flesh as if massaging a sore joint.

Ann's tone suggested that she wasn't keen on opening up said wounds again. Gumi took the opportunity to change the subject.

"I… uh… I noticed that you're not at work. Is the restaurant opening late today?"

Ann snorted indignantly. "Sugar, please. Not once in the last twenty years have ah opened Sweet Ann's late, and ah'm not about ta' start any time soon. Ah left Miki in charge while Al and ah were talkin'."

Ann was obviously not the kind of woman that made uneducated decisions very often, and Gumi wasn't about to question her business practices, but all the same she couldn't help but feel that putting Miki in charge of anything would only be the decision of someone who had taken leave of their senses.

"You left Miki in charge? That's very… trusting of you" she said, unable to think of anything more polite.

Ann smiled proudly. "Let no one say that ah don't always have a backup plan. Mah customers expect their favorite establishment to be open at 7AM every mornin', and ah aim ta' please."

"I'm sure she's doing… well" said Gumi, unable to properly voice her thoughts.

Ann nodded sagely. "Ah reckon so."

"She seems to get along with the customers…" said Gumi, still not fathoming what could have prompted such a lapse of judgment.

"Ya' don't think it was a good idea?" said Ann quizzically, noticing Gumi's unenthusiastic tone.

The technological teen threaded her fingers together uneasily. "I don't know… Miki is quite… unique. I'm not saying it's a bad decision, it's just…"

"Just what, Sugar?"

"Well, I don't know her from Adam; I'm just wondering if maybe her human relations may be a bit… lacking where running a business is concerned."

"Ah'm not sure ah follow."

"Well… she _did_ freeze up and start wailing like a banshee when she met me for the first time…"

"Ah don't see what-" Ann began before her she suddenly blanched and a look of pure horror crossed her face.

"Good Lord…" she breathed, "what have ah done?"

Moments later Al paused on his way to work as a green and yellow blur suddenly zipped past him fast enough to spin him around like a top. His eyes spun in opposite directions as he shook himself back to his senses. He barely caught a glimpse of his sister dragging Gumi along by the arm and sprinting at top speed towards the diner. The green-haired girl shrieked as she practically flew through the air, her free arm waving about wildly.

Al just shook his head. "I don't know what she's so worked up about. It wasn't _that_ bad of a joke…"

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Miki narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the man in the booth in front of her. She scrunched up her nose, carefully scrutinizing his every movement. She leaned in close and tilted her head slightly to the side.

"What is your purpose here?"

The man leaned back uncomfortably, an uneasy look on his face as Miki's complete disregard for his personal space put him slightly on edge. The look in her eyes was a dark one. It spoke of many things: secrets, wars, terrible cataclysms, death. It whispered in his ear with the dulcet tones that only the souls of the damned are capable of and mercilessly judged him.

"I'm here to eat" he said, "just like I always am."

Miki tilted her head the other way, contemplating the man's statement. "I know that."

"Then why did you-"

"SHH!" said Miki forcefully. "Don't speak."

The man clammed up instantly, confused.

"Do you hear that?" asked Miki, casting furtive glances to either side. "It's the sound of deception. There is one here that is not who they appear to be."

She glanced around the mostly empty diner. Besides the man she was currently talking to and herself, there were only two other occupants in the entire building. She eyed the man again, leaning in so close that their noses were almost touching. She inhaled deeply.

"You smell like lies."

"I smell- what?" said the man, completely confused.

"I wonder… where do your loyalties lie?"

Before the man could respond, Miki straightened up and pointed accusingly at him.

"You're a spy!" she stated. Her eyes narrowed again. "But for whom? Hmm..." She pursed her lips in thought. "The insipid regime running this country hasn't the necessary intelligence. Perhaps you're an agent of the order of the inconceivable! No, they only operate on Thursdays. If you were a religious extremist we'd most likely all be dead already. Unless…"

Her lips curled up in a sinister grin.

"Unless you're a free agent! AHA!" she jabbed a finger at his face. "Give it up! You can't hope to hide your true identity from me! Your training may have prepared you for this day, but there are ways to break a man…"

The man's eyes widened in alarm.

"Miss Miki, please be reasonable! You know me! I've lived here for almost fifteen years! And I've been coming here every Wednesday for the past fourteen!"

Miki looked at the man, frowning. "Jerry, do you mind? I'm trying to deduce things here."

"You're just making things up!" he said, exasperated.

She paused for a moment, considering this. Finally she nodded in acquiescence. "Fair enough. What can I get you?" She held up a notepad and pen.

Jerry simply mouthed words silently for a few seconds as he tried to comprehend the essence of incomprehension that was the woman in front of him. After several moments, he gave up. Jerry missed the old days when a man could just go to a restaurant and eat his meal in peace.

"Whatever" he sighed, "I'll have-"

"You'll have a BLT and you'll like it you damn dirty spy" said Miki, getting in the man's face again. She poked him in the chest. "Any questions?"

"Ah might have a few" came a voice from behind her. It carried just a hint of malice in its solid, southern inflection.

Miki made to turn around but was immediately struck in the face by a rolled up newspaper. She yelped and shielded herself with her arms.

"Ah shoulda' known better than ta' leave ya'll alone with mah diner!"

Miki hissed as she tried to fend off Ann's assault. "No! Stop! You know I'm allergic to newsprint!"

"Good! Maybe you'll sneeze some sense inta' yerself! Back ta' the kitchen with ya'!" she swung the paper in a vicious arc and smacked Miki square on top of the head. The star-covered woman waved her arms wildly in an attempt to fend off her attacker. She backed up as Ann advanced on her, swinging the paper all the while. Eventually Miki was corralled back towards the swinging door leading to the kitchen. After one final swipe Ann tossed the paper aside and shoved Miki backwards through the door. She stumbled and fell on her behind. As the door swung shut the last glimpse Gumi caught was of Miki rubbing her head with one hand and glaring at Ann with a look that promised retribution.

Ann turned around, stood squarely in front of the door, arms akimbo and jaw set. At that exact moment, a stray beam of sunlight caught her face in just such a way that her eyes sparkled with a fiery intensity that lent an air of absolute authority to the blonde woman. Gumi made a mental note to never, _ever_, piss her off, which she filed away for future perusal.

With a huff, Ann wiped her hands together before crossing her arms. At that moment, Al walked through the front door of the establishment, a look of confusion on his face.

"Ann, what in tarnation was that all about? Ya' looked like ya' were about ta' tear Miss Gumi's arm off with how fast ya' were pullin' her!"

As an answer, Ann simply pointed to Al's left. Turning to look, he was confronted by a small whiteboard on a stand, usually reserved for displaying the daily specials. As it were, the various offerings had been erased and replaced with the ominous message: "those who refuse to pay die early" in bright blue marker. The dot above the 'I' was replaced by a star.

"Oh" Al deadpanned. "Miki, then?"

"Eeyup" said Ann in answer.

"Thought as much" said Al as he slowly walked back towards the swinging door himself. He walked through without another word.

Ann cast a glance at Gumi, who had watched the entire spectacle with an air of bemusement. She had long since come to the conclusion that attempting to understand any situation where Miki was involved was a lost cause, and thusly had stopped attempting.

"Why don't ya' follow him, Sugar?" suggested Ann. "T'aint a good idea ta' have ya' standin' around out here in the open, if ya' catch mah drift."

Gumi just nodded. Silently she followed Al through to the back.

A sound from behind prompted Ann to turn back around. Jerry coughed and cleared his throat.

"So… uh… when did Wednesdays become this exciting?" he asked with a weak smile.

Ann smiled back. "Every day's an adventure, Sugar" she stated before taking out her notepad and pencil. "You'll have yer usual, I reckon."

"You know me, Ann" he replied. "I'm nothing if not a creature of routine."

Ann just chuckled a bit. "At least some of us are." She ripped the top sheet of paper off and walked behind the front counter. Posting it to the order rack, she hollered into the back:

"Al, one BLT on the double!"

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

The group emerged from the sewer tunnel by way of a maintenance door that had practically rusted itself off its own hinges. In the gloom beyond a cluttered, musty old basement was visible. A set of stairs against the far wall led up to who-knew-where.

Rin barely paused as she shoved the door open with a loud squealing noise. The entire place was covered in layers of thick dust. The only semi-clean area was a path cut straight from the door to the stairs, where the detritus had been cleared away, presumably to make room for Rin and Len to use this building as a thoroughfare.

Luka followed her inside, keeping a firm grip on Miku's arm to prevent her from jumping on Rin and tearing her to pieces. The blue-haired girl grumbled under her breath and glared daggers at the form of the girl in front of them. Len brought up the rear as they made their way across the room and up the stairs.

"Where are we?" asked Luka, glancing around at their dilapidated surroundings.

"Old public works building" replied Rin. "It was abandoned years and years ago when the city water bureau moved their office. Hasn't been touched since."

"And why are we here?"

Rin cast a sardonic look in Luka's direction. "To shut that mouth of yours up about how 'lucky' we are."

Luka frowned at the girl's tone, but held her tongue as Rin continued her way up.

"You can see the entire southern sprawl from the roof" explained Len, plodding up behind them. "What she means is that it should give you a pretty good idea of the situation."

The ground floor of the building was a depressing sight. Any furniture had long since been removed, and all that remained was a cracked floor of ceramic tile. The electrical fixtures had all been torn out, and the only illumination came from the sickly light filtering in through the grimy, boarded up windows. The walls had accumulated numerous large water stains from years of neglect. More dust greeted them in their trek as their feet kicked up small clouds of the stuff.

Luka wrinkled her nose. The place smelled like decay and mildew. Without even seeing outside, she could tell what kind of neighborhood they were in. This was the dead part of the city. It may have thrived, once, long ago, but the ravages of time and the steady march of progress had resigned it to a fate of slowly rotting away until it was eventually torn down completely and new, better things were built in its place.

The stairs to the second story and beyond creaked ominously as the group ascended. Rin walked casually, as if she had been here before which, Luka noted, she probably had. She stared at the back of Rin's head as they tromped up a third flight of steps.

She couldn't help but feel like the girl emanated a great deal of anger for someone so young. It wasn't often she had seen that scowl born from years of a hard-knock life in the face of what should be a carefree, happy child. It put her on edge. Certainly, Rin couldn't have had it _that_ bad…

Could she?

Luka wasn't left wondering for long. At the end of a final set of stairs, they reached a metal door labeled 'Roof Access.' Rin placed her hand on the door and pushed. The corridor was suddenly filled with the harsh glare of late summer. The group blinked and shielded their eyes as they exited onto the rooftop.

"Take a good look around, Pinky, and then tell me that it's 'not that bad'" said Rin derisively, crossing her arms as she stared out at the cityscape in front of them.

As her eyes adjusted, this time to the brightness that overwhelmed them after the darkness of the indoors, Luka's breath caught in her throat.

It really _was_ way worse.

Her hand slackened its grip on Miku's arm, but the teen made no attempt to attack. Like her mentor, she had been struck speechless by the sight before them.

"_Arca nakana kin…" _Luka spoke, barely above a whisper.

"Yeah… what she said…" said Miku.

The pair stared, wide-eyed, at the horror sprawled out in front of them. Fires burned, sirens blared, screams echoed through the streets, and an unshakeable sense of despair draped itself like a blanket over it all.

In her lifetime, Luka had seen a lot of things. Some were bad, some were very bad.

Then there was _this._

She could not claim to have ever seen something quite like what she was witnessing. It was as though an entire fourth of the city had simply been taken away. Because surely _this_ could not have ever been part of the bustling metropolis they had walked through earlier.

More buildings than she cared to count were simply burnt out shells, their charred frames all that were left of their former shape. What stores she could see were in a similar state of disrepair, the windows broken and the shelves empty. Garbage and debris littered the streets wherever she looked, lending an air of hopelessness to the place.

What really caught her attention were not the buildings, however, but the people. There weren't many of them on the streets, but she knew they were there, hiding behind the flutter of curtains and the telltale shadows on windowsills. Those brave enough to journey out seemed simply to wander about aimlessly with no apparent rhyme, reason, or care as to their direction or destination.

The few cars that drove the streets didn't stop, only passing through as swiftly as possible so as to put this awful place behind them. Luka couldn't blame them. What sane person would want to spend any amount of time here?

Military personnel roamed the streets in an endless rotation. An armored vehicle or jeep sat on practically every other street corner. The aimless destitutes walking the sidewalks averted their eyes and hurried past to whatever unfathomable appointment they may have been in need of keeping.

_Tyranny_.

The word ran through Luka's mind for the second time that day. It had been a suspicion before when they had been denied access to what should be public knowledge, now it was a certainty. There was no denying the feeling of oppression. The weight of being watched hung heavily from every street lamp, stop light, and sign. It dripped from the pipes and slithered around just beyond sight in the shadows.

"What happened here?" Luka asked quietly, suddenly feeling very small for her earlier behavior.

Rather than insult her further, Rin looked straight ahead, her rambunctiousness quelled by the melancholy of the view in front of them.

"The government happened" she replied. "When the hammer came down, it came down here."

"All of this is from the relocations?" said Luka, disbelieving.

"Not hardly" Len cut in. "It's been this way for a while. The worst part was months ago when they rounded up all the Vocaloids."

Luka was confused. "Rounded up? You mean in groups? How long had the quarantines been going on when that happened?"

"Around here that _was_ the quarantine" said Rin, an edge in her tone. "House arrest or whatever might work for a small town, but not here. The city's too big. They couldn't spare that much manpower to cover the whole thing. When the orders came in they snatched up all the Vocaloids and herded them up here. Put em' up in these big halfway houses called 'Dens'."

"You mean forced communal living?" said Luka, aghast. "What about their families?"

"What _about_ their families?" Rin spat back. "You think they cared? They had their orders to gather up Vocaloids, and that's what happened. You should have seen it around here when word first got out about the moves. It was total chaos. Some people tried to hide. The stupid ones tried to run. I'll give you a guess how that turned out for em'." Luka didn't need to guess, the girl's glare said everything.

Then Rin's eyes turned dark. A shadow passed over her face. When she spoke, it was with the utmost hatred and loathing.

"That was when _they_ started showing up."

"Who?" asked Miku.

"The U-cons" said Len. "It stands for 'Unofficially Contracted'. They're Vocaloids that work for the feds as a sort of bounty hunter. They're allowed to live on the outside, away from the relocation centers, in exchange for tracking down runaway Vocaloids and bringing them in."

"Gutless, spineless, sell-outs is what they are!" said Rin, practically seething with anger. "They're cowards and brutes, all of them! They'd rather ruin other people's lives just to help themselves."

"The government is really employing such a hypocritical policy?" asked Luka. "That can't be right."

"Why do you think they're _unofficially_ contracted?" said Len. "Officially speaking, they don't exist. The only reason that we know about them is because so many of them have tried to take us down."

Rin snorted. "Yeah, well, they haven't been able to do it yet. None of em' were quite so tough after we kicked their sorry asses and handed em' back to the military." She got a mischievous glint in her eye. "Oh yeah, we had a lot of fun with them over the summer. Remember the guy we tied to the giant burger sign over by Zeke's grill, Len?"

Len chuckled. "Yeah. What about the one we left hanging by the ankles from the main street bridge?"

Rin laughed. "The best one was totally that lady with the lisp." She looked at Luka and Miku. "They found her after she'd spent two days in the back of a garbage truck."

Miku looked at Luka. "Why couldn't we have spent the summer doing that? We could have been like crime fighters or superheroes, or something." She grinned knowingly. "Or bounty hunters, even."

Luka gave her a dirty look.

The twins sobered considerably at Miku's words. They glanced at each other before Rin looked away and crossed her arms.

"Hmph. Sure, it was fun. Not like it accomplished anything, though."

"What do you mean?" asked Miku. "You guys must have been like a dynamic duo or something, y'know? Fighting crime from the shadows, bringing honesty back to the city and all that jazz?"

"What she means is that our actions didn't make any difference in the long run" Len clarified. "Do you know how they wrote off what we did in the news? They're giving credit for our deeds to some mysterious unnamed vigilante, selling it like it's some random do-gooder taking dangerous, unstable Vocaloids off the streets. After everything is said and done, we're just ending up serving their agenda anyways.

He gave them a sardonic look. "So yeah, we took down a bunch of U-Cons, but what did it really do? They'll just send more tomorrow."

"Let them" said Miku simply.

Len was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me" she said. "So what if they send more tomorrow? So what if everyone believes what the news tells them? You two know the real story, don't you? Isn't it enough that you know that you're doing the right thing and being complete badasses while doing it?"

She grinned.

"If the military or the government or whoever it is that controls these U-Con people send more, then you just keep sending them straight back!" Her grin widened. "I'll even help!"

Luka stepped in, placing a hand on Miku's shoulder. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree." She smiled wryly at her apprentice, who returned the expression. "If they're after you, and you're a target they can't take down, then that means they aren't after someone else who might not be able to protect themselves. Besides, even if they aren't recognizing you for it, that probably works out better for you two anyways, am I right? The more people who know who you are, the harder it would be to move around."

Len sat stunned at the wall of Miku logic that had just crashed into him. Rin was silent; she stared at teacher and student with a curious look on her face. Slowly, she walked forward until she stood directly in front of them. She thrust her right hand out towards Miku.

"You know, Piggy… you're alright after all."

Miku accepted the handshake with a smile. "You aren't too bad yourself, Blondie. Anyone who kicks ass for a good reason is OK in my book."

Suddenly Rin felt a small nudge in her side. Len gave her a meaningful look and nodded his head towards Luka. Scowling, Rin turned towards her and averted her eyes, crossing her arms.

"I'm… sorryforcallingyouahooker" she said as fast as she could, her embarrassment evident from the red on her cheeks.

A pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her. "Aw, apology accepted" said Luka as she embraced the girl.

"Gah! Let go of me!" Rin shouted. She pried herself out of Luka's grip. "Geez, just because I said sorry doesn't mean I want you touching me."

Luka just shrugged. "Meh, Lucentian values. What can I say?"

"Yeah… right…" said Rin, brushing herself off. "As heartfelt as all this apology junk is, we should probably get off this roof before someone spots us." She glanced at Len and gestured at Miku and Luka. "You think these two would fit in at the cave?"

Len grinned. "Oh, I think the gang would get along great with them."

Luka sighed. "You mean there're _more_ of you?"

"Don't be like that, Luka!" said Miku brightly. "I think it sounds like fun!" She turned towards the blonde siblings. "Lead the way!"

"I'm starting to like you more and more" said Rin, with a grin of her own. "Follow us, if you can keep up."

With that she bounded back down the stairs they had come from. Miku followed. Moments later, there was a loud crash as both of them presumably lost their footing and fell down the steps.

Simultaneously, both Luka and Len put a hand to their foreheads. With a wan glance at each other, they both chuckled softly before following after their comrades.

"You know, Len, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship." She winced slightly as another crash came from the base of another set of stairs. "Or a very short one…"

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

Welp, thar she blows, as it were. Chapter 15 is up and running and it only took me a little over a month. Considering that's about a 50% improvement over my previous upload times, I'll take it for now. What really matters is if you, my beloved readers, are happy with this literary amalgamation of my random thoughts and musings. I like to think it comes together nicely, but I'll let you be the judge.

That said, here's edition three of lessons in Lucentian:

LESSON #3: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, WHEN, AND HOW

You won't find very many words in the Lucentian language that begin with the letter 'u'. There is a reason for this. You see, there are six very important words that _do_ start with 'u', and they are all very commonly used.

These words are as follows:

_Ua, Ue, Ui, Uo, Une, _and _Uva._ Respectively, these words mean: What, When, Why, Who, Where, and How.

When they are utilized it is almost always at the beginning of a sentence. For example, _Ua tue occu adot?_ Would basically translate to "What did you do today?"

In most cases, all six of these words are used only as questions. There is one exception to this. _Ue,_ or 'when', can be used in statements as well. Imagine it this way. You could ask someone "When does the train arrive?" but you could also tell a person "When the train arrives, I'm getting on." _Ue _is used to indicate or inquire about the time that something occurs.

Next time: _e, a, _and _o_. Past, present, and future.

On to the music!

"Want you Gone" – Ok, this is a cover of the amazing ending song of Portal 2 by Sweet Ann. It's not as good as the original, in my opinion, but hey, to each their own. The question is, in the context of this story, who exactly does Ann want gone? Stay tuned.

Link to Youtube video: watch?v=NgOwsbaFbMU&list=PL26EDB899A12B4E52

"Meltdown" – I'm sure plenty of you have heard this before. This version is a duet between Rin and Len and it's what inspired the whole of Rin and Len's experience in Clonderwell City.

Link to Youtube video: watch?v=KPQ0VPtxPk8

That's it for this update! As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

Well, this chapter was fun to write. Mad and Uta are quickly becoming my favorite pair for innocuous banter, probably because he can be such a douchebag sometimes and she doesn't care in the slightest. Rest assured, the rest of the cast will get the same attention. Keep your eyes open for the next chapter of Vocal Vision!

Here's AnarchySong, signing off!


	16. Love at First Fight!

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

The full chapter title is: "Love at First Fight! There's _WHAT_ Under My House?!"

**********************************Chapter 16***********************************

_Breathe. Don't panic, stay calm._

She glanced around the room, trying her hardest to quell the panic rising rapidly in her chest.

_Ok, focus. You've been in worse situations than this. Deep breaths._

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, striving to still her racing pulse. She was better than this. Her training had prepared her for situations like this. It wasn't like she hadn't been in similar ones before.

_Ok, step one… where am I?_

She looked around the room once more, taking in the details. She was in a bed. That much was clear. It wasn't a very comfortable bed, more like an oversized cot, really. Surrounding her on all sides were heavy blue curtains hanging from iron rods. A heart monitor beeped to her right, steadily slowing as she calmed herself. An IV bag hung from a stand on her left, filled with some unknown liquid.

_Ok… hospital. No… That's not right…_

She frowned slightly, closing her eyes and letting her mind clear. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was…

A crash.

Soldiers.

Guns.

A scream. Her own.

A single shot. Pain. Darkness.

Oh. Right. _That._ Relocation.

Sighing, she opened her eyes. _Alright, not a hospital then._

She was able to connect the dots pretty easily from there. It was quite simple to figure out considering there was really only one place she _could_ be in light of… recent events.

Many- if not most- people would likely react to this situation with an understandable degree of fear and uncertainty.

Riko Kasane is not most people.

She is not even some people, or a very small fraction, for that matter. She is quite unique. Ten years ago, situations like this hadn't been a common occurrence, per se, but that wasn't to say that she hadn't woken up in captivity before.

Of course, it was usually by her own choice back then. Oh well, minor details.

She sat up. Well, attempted to sit up, at least. The blinding pain shooting through her left shoulder drew a small gasp from her mouth, and she immediately lay back down. Tentatively, she used her right hand to explore the wound.

Her entire left shoulder was bound tightly in gauze. Upon further inspection, she found that the tube leading from the IV she had noticed earlier was connected to her left arm, most likely a morphine drip, which explained why she hadn't felt the injury earlier.

_Step two. What is my condition?_

A cursory glance about her bed revealed a medical chart on a clipboard hanging from a small peg. She reached out with a small bit of vocal power and brought it to herself. A quick perusal of its contents answered her question.

PATIENT: Riko Kasane

AGE: 36 (DOB: 05/15/1976)

DATE ADMITTED: 08/31/2012

KAMUI SCORE: 4.6

She skipped down past most of the information on the page and went straight to the doctor's notes.

_Patient unconscious upon arrival. Single bullet wound in left shoulder. Round NOT present, exit wound through left shoulder blade. Remarkably little bone damage. Fractures set, blood flow staunched. Watch closely for signs of infection. Estimated time of full recovery: 2-4 months with proper care._

Hm. Well that was a problem. Riko certainly wasn't going to spend 2-4 months in this place. Teto couldn't wait that long. Which brought her to her next question:

_How do I escape?_

She took stock of her current condition. With her shoulder pierced through, her left arm would need to be in a sling to prevent damage from unnecessary movement. This made her far more vulnerable than she would have liked. With the use of only one arm, she was at a severe disadvantage. Her dexterity- her best trait, in her opinion- would be monumentally impaired.

The short answer, then, was that she _wasn't_ going to escape. At least not right then.

Riko grit her teeth and growled. She shouldn't have been in this situation to begin with. If she had done the sensible thing and gotten out earlier, she wouldn't even be in this mess.

How had she slipped so much? Ten years ago, she never would have been caught. She would have been gone months before they ever came to get her. Logically, she _should_ have been gone months before they came for her.

She sighed. The answer was a simple one, and she knew that given the chance to repeat events, she most likely would make the same decision again.

It was Teto.

There was no possible way she could leave her daughter. It just wasn't in her. She had given up her old lifestyle long ago, when she received the greatest gift life could give her. No matter the risk to herself, Teto was the only one she cared about.

She wouldn't have understood. No amount of explaining or excuses could have made it alright. When it all came down to it, she wouldn't have been able to break her daughter's heart, never mind if she was broken herself.

Only now that same girl was most definitely locked up in a facility just like the one she was currently residing in, and it was her fault. She cursed under her breath. It was unacceptable. Even in light of everything she should have had a plan. She used to _always_ have a plan.

She remembered back to the old days, when she had first joined the special ops division. Her proclivity for preparedness was what had set her apart in the beginning. Couple that with her perfect scores in stealth and reconnaissance training, and it was little wonder she had been chosen.

Things had been so much simpler back then. She received orders, she carried out those orders, and then she lived comfortably on a military salary with benefits. Nothing could have been easier.

Then _he _came along.

Oh that wonderful, terrible, brilliant man. She still remembered the first time she met him. He wasn't anything special, just a random civilian. What were the chances that she would fall in love with just another face in the crowd?

*******************************17 years earlier**********************************

Riko ducked as a bullet buried itself in the woodwork to the left of her head. She didn't spare the time to look back as she ran, sprinting down a hallway on the second story of an otherwise unremarkable apartment complex.

She knew that her target was right behind her. Several more shots rang out, and she grunted in annoyance as she reflected on the novice mistake that had brought her to this point.

The dossier had said that the man currently chasing her had some military training. What she had failed to notice was the asterisk adorning the end of the sentence. Had she followed its directions to peruse to the end of the next page, what she would have found was that _some_ military training was a woefully inaccurate description.

Four years of formal training followed by three years spent in the jungle running rescue missions in hostile territory had given the man quite an extensive knowledge of guerilla warfare.

It had also had the unfortunate side effect of inducing a bout of complete insanity. The man's fractured psyche was telling him that he was still at war. This was quite the problem for Riko, whom he seemed to think was an enemy spy.

She had tried to tell him several times that he was mistaken, but he refused to listen. This was _supposed_ to be a simple surveillance and information gathering affair. How was she supposed to know that merely looking through the man's window would set him off like that?

In any case, what was done was done. Now she was running for her life while a crazed man with Rambo's skillset murderously pursued her. Life was funny sometimes.

With a quick flurry of musical notes and a little mental focus, she summoned a bit of Vocal power and tossed it behind her, the energy taking the shape of knives as it flew. The man burst around the corner, only to be forced to take cover as the glowing blades buried themselves in the wall.

She looked around quickly, there was nowhere to hide. The hallway was simply a long, straight corridor lined with doors. She pressed herself up against the wall, making herself as small as possible.

Looking behind her, she saw that she was pinned. There was nothing at the end of the hallway except a window.

_You've got to be kidding me…_ she growled mentally, quickly realizing her only option. She produced several more Vocal blades and threw them at the window. It shattered, raining glass down on the carpeted hallway. Casting one glance back towards the man, still using the corner as cover, she made a break for it.

The instant she moved, the gun was firing again, the soldier's veteran instincts alerting him to the fact that his prey was once again on the move. Riko ducked and weaved, making herself as difficult a target as was possible in the confined space. Amazingly, the shots missed, and with a leap, she jumped straight through the broken window.

She was immensely grateful that the landlord of this particular apartment complex had elected to use large shrubs for their preferred aesthetic plant life. The scratchy bushes broke her fall nicely. She quickly scrambled out, however, knowing that she was completely exposed. This fact was driven home quite forcefully as more bullets rained down from the broken window above.

Throwing herself to the side, she rolled beneath a covering for several parking spaces. Springing back to her feet, she slid across the hood of a large SUV, vaulted a motorcycle, and crossed the remaining distance to a concrete walkway. She questioned the sensibility of her deciding to undertake this assignment in broad daylight. It would have been much wiser to conduct her business under cover of darkness.

Right then, however, she needed to find a more reliable type of cover, and preferably in the quickest manner possible, as the man had just jumped out the window himself and was now attempting to flank her.

Riko ran back around the side of the main building and skirted along an outside hallway lined by more doors on her left.

Suddenly, one of the doors in front of her opened up and she had to spin quickly to avoid running straight into it. Momentarily fearing that the man had somehow managed to ambush her, she readied another blade in her hand and spun around, grabbing the one standing in the doorway by the collar and bringing the knife to their throat.

Immediately her internal melody dissolved into a screeching mess as she hastily dispelled the knife before it sliced the individual's neck open. The man she held was not the one chasing her, thankfully, and he eyed her with a nonplussed look. She released him immediately.

"Sorry" she intoned quickly, before turning to run again.

"Wait!" said the man. "You can hide in here."

Pausing for a moment, she considered. It only took her a split second to glance in front of her and see that she was headed straight for a central courtyard that was devoid of any possible cover. Rolling her eyes exasperatedly, Riko realized that the man's offer was her best possible option. Great. She _hated_ dragging civilians into her assignments. They only ever messed things up. As it stood, however, there was no time to debate the point further. She spun around again, placing a hand on the man's chest and shoving him inside, before whipping the door shut behind them.

It was dark inside the apartment. The curtains had been drawn save for a small crack that let in a paltry amount of light. A light shone from a room in the back, but the illumination didn't reach her.

She kept her eyes locked on the door for several seconds after it shut, listening intently for any sign of her pursuer. Upon hearing nothing she turned once again to face her mysterious helper. She ended up only a few scant inches from his face, their lips nearly touching. Apparently he was too shocked to have taken a few steps back.

If Riko was embarrassed about being in such intimate proximity with a man she had never met before, she did an excellent job of hiding it. She stared straight at him with a completely serious expression. The gentleman in question wasn't nearly as proficient at hiding the blush that spread across his cheeks. Riko missed it in the dim half-light of the room. She could hardly see his face.

"Thanks" she said, backing up a bit.

"Y-yeah, don't mention it" replied the man, pulling himself back together.

Riko turned back to the door and gazed through the peep-hole to check for any sign that the former soldier was still chasing her.

"My name's Tetsuo, by the way" said the man. Only silence greeted him as Riko continued to look outside. After several awkward seconds he ventured: "And you are?"

"The less you know about me, the better" said Riko without looking away from the spy-glass. "You've already put yourself in more danger than you're aware of, and I don't want to be responsible for anything else that might happen to you."

Tetsuo flashed a grin that she didn't see. "Danger, huh? Sounds exciting" he said, clearly not completely grasping the situation.

"That's one word for it, I suppose" she replied. "Still, I'm not sure you'd want the kind of excitement I deal with."

"Oh? I've seen abusive relationships before. Even been in a couple. You should really consider a few better candidates than whoever it was chasing you out there."

Riko actually turned around at this, one eyebrow raised. "You think _that's_ what's going on here?" She thought about it for a second, before realizing that believing that the soldier was her significant other was less likely to get the man in trouble than the truth. She decided to roll with it.

"I mean, yeah. He's nothing like he was when we first met. He used to be so romantic" she said mechanically.

Riko paused for a second, realizing just how incredibly cliché and forced that had sounded. There was no way he'd buy-

"It happens like that a lot" said Tetsuo, nodding in agreement. "Some relationships just fall apart over time."

_-Or maybe he would…_ Riko finished in her head. Whatever. If he bought it, great.

"Would you like me to call the police?" he asked, gesturing at his telephone.

"No!" she said a little too quickly. Tetsuo raised one eyebrow. "I mean, no. I'm sure that someone else heard those shots too. They're probably already on their way."

It was true. The blues were probably on their way right then. It hardly mattered anymore. Her mission was compromised beyond hope of redemption at this point. If she could spare herself a few hours of pointless questioning, she'd take it.

Riko always hated interacting with the police on her assignments. The nature of her job required her to keep a lot of secrets, and the police rarely liked people who kept a lot of secrets. Also, despite the fact that she had the perk of federal immunity, many of the tactics she employed weren't exactly within the boundaries of the law. The less she had to deal with local law enforcement, the better.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. They'll find me at some point anyways. I don't think Jim will be able to weasel his way out of it this time" she said, inventing a name for her fictional beau. The man in question's actual name was Francis, but the fewer details Tetsuo knew, the better. "Could I just lay low here for a while? I'm sure that-"

The door was kicked off its hinges.

Without turning around Riko dodged the arm that came at her from behind. She grasped the wrist with both of her hands and attempted to break the limb over her shoulder. Francis twisted inward and tried to bring her into a headlock. She slipped out at the last moment and spun around.

She struck out with several lighting fast blows, all of which were blocked. Francis brought his gun around and fired a shot, but Riko caught his arm, executing a quick finger lock to force him to drop the weapon. His free hand went for a combat knife at his belt and he made several quick swipes to force a break.

Francis didn't let up and pressed the advantage afforded him by his size. He stabbed forward with his knife and Riko parried the thrust with a hastily conjured Vocal energy blade. The insufficient lighting was not playing to her advantage. She had to focus twice as hard just to be able to track each of Francis' hacks and slashes lest she be sliced to ribbons.

She went low and tried to kick his legs out, but the man jumped over her sweep and aimed a kick at her head. Riko was forced to somersault backwards to avoid having her head taken off. She threw her Vocal blade to cover her recovery and Francis simply swatted it aside. Sparks flew as energy contacted metal.

She knew she was at a definite disadvantage. Francis was at least twice her body weight, and what he lacked in agility he more than made up for in sheer force. Her specialty was stealth, not open combat.

Riko attempted to summon another blade but was interrupted as Francis barreled into her with a shoulder charge.

His charge lifted her off the ground as he drove her backward and down, sending them both crashing through a wooden table. Riko winced as she felt several splinters slice up her back.

Francis brought his hands to her throat and squeezed. Riko instantly felt lightheaded as both her air supply and the blood flow to her brain were cut off. She flailed around as the corners of her vision began to darken.

Flailing wildly, her hand closed around something solid and she brought it across Francis' face hard. He reeled back, clutching at a large gash across his face. Riko looked at the object. It was one of the broken table legs. Quickly regaining her senses as her lungs filled with air once again, she tossed it away as another energy blade shimmered into existence in her hand.

Francis was quick to recover. He lunged back to his feet and glared at Riko. The two circled each other warily, both battered and bruised. They both leapt at the same time.

Steel clashed with light as Riko caught a powerful slash between two of her energy blades. Though she held as hard as could, the man's superior strength soon won out and she was pushed backwards into a kitchen counter. The small of her back pushed into the edge and she was bent over backwards as she desperately tried to keep Francis' blade from her throat.

It was a losing battle. No matter how hard she pushed, she was no match for the soldier's muscle. As the knife edged closer and closer to her jugular, she gazed into the man's eyes. Despite the dim lighting of the room, she saw them clearly. In their depths she found a crazed look born of fear and adrenaline. Obviously he was somewhere else entirely.

Just before her guard broke completely, there was a loud crack and the man's eyes rolled back in his head. He crumpled to the floor unconscious, a lump forming on the back of his skull.

Riko looked up. There stood Tetsuo, gun in hand, having delivered a sound pistol whipping to the man. He grinned.

"So, I take it he's not your boyfriend, then?" Tetsuo said, staring down at the unconscious form of the man.

"Yeah, not so much" Riko said, panting, as she wiped a bit of blood out of her eye. "Thanks, by the way."

"Don't mention it!" said Tetsuo, his grin wider than ever. He glanced down at the unconscious form of Francis. "What do we do about him?"

"_We_ don't do anything" she said pointedly. "What _you_ do is wait for the police to show up and let them handle it. _I_ on the other hand am going to make like a good little operative and get the hell out of here before they show up."

At this Tetsuo noticeably deflated. "Oh…" he said, looking away. "Well, they'll probably be here any minute so…"

"Yeah…" she said, sensing the awkwardness. She straightened up and offered a hand. "Really, thank you. I'd be dead right now if not for you."

Tetsuo took her hand and shook it. "It wasn't anything special" he said. "I just saw an opportunity and took it. Besides," he grinned, "it'd be a real shame if anything were to happen to that pretty face of yours."

Riko smiled at the compliment, a slight blush making its way onto her cheeks. In her line of work, it wasn't often that you were praised for anything other than your performance. Still, it was only a kind word. It's not like this guy was anything spec-

As luck would have it, the clouds chose that exact moment to clear a bit. The resulting ray of sunlight happily beamed down to earth on its God-given course. As it reached the window of Tetsuo's apartment, however, it decided to have a bit of fun and refract off the glass in just such a way as to bounce between the small crack in the curtains and cast itself straight onto the man's face. His countenance was immediately cast into stark relief.

Riko's breath suddenly caught in her throat as she got a good look at Tetsuo's features for the first time. Now, he was no movie star, but his looks were nothing to scoff at. It was his eyes more than anything that caught her attention. Two orbs of brilliant blue that practically sparkled as she gazed at them. They held an enormous depth of character, all of it joyful. It was almost as though his eyes had smiles of their own, and they took every opportunity they could get to show them to the world.

His nose was slightly on the small side, and the positioning of his cheekbones lent his face a bit of a boyish appearance. It was more cute than handsome, but undeniably attractive.

His teeth might not have been symmetrical down to the exact angles, but Riko found it hard to tell past the dazzling shine of his smile. She swore the sun practically glinted off of them like it would some sort of precious metal. The overall effect, while aided in part by nature's well-timed intervention, was breathtaking.

This was evidenced by the fact that Riko had indeed stopped breathing and had been staring for several moments.

"You… ok there?" Tetsuo ventured after a few seconds had passed.

"Uh-huh" was Riko's only response. She snapped back to reality a moment later. Her blush intensified by an exponential factor and she drew her hand back.

"I-I mean yes!" she said, a little louder than the situation warranted. Tetsuo arched an eyebrow. Riko floundered for more words, but none would form in her addled brain.

"I should go…" she managed after an awkward pause.

Tetsuo's smile faded at this. To Riko it was as though a storm cloud had blotted out the sky. A small whine nearly escaped her, but she managed to catch it at the last second.

Slowly, painfully, she turned and began to walk towards the door. Suddenly it felt as though chains had been affixed to each of her limbs, attempting to drag her back to gaze once more upon the beautiful visage of the man behind her.

She shook her head as her own mind betrayed her. This was NOT how missions were supposed to go. Rule number one was not to get attached. It was hardly difficult for her. Her role hardly ever required speaking to anyone at all let alone forming any sort of relationship whatsoever. Yet here she was practically swooning over a man she had met not five minutes previously. To his credit though, he was _very_ attractive, at least in her eyes.

No. She could not let herself be won over by base emotions. She was a professional. Professionals did not let silly fantasies get the better of them, and not once in her illustrious albeit short career had she ever considered herself to be anything other than professional.

She took a deep breath. The door was only a few steps away. All she had to do was reach it, and she could put this inane hormonal response out of her mind and get on with the tongue lashing she was sure to receive from her superiors for botching up this assignment so badly.

Looking back on it later, Riko never could figure out what it was that had convinced her to glance behind her when she reached the doorframe. It hardly mattered, in any case. The effect was immediate and profound.

She turned and beheld Tetsuo, still standing where he had been. There was nothing inherently special about him, or different. There was no reason for him to draw her attention, no reason for her to be hung up on or even care about the way he felt.

It was his expression that sealed her fate.

He was still smiling. He basically never stopped, you see, but it was a sad smile, one of resignation. It was a practiced smile, the smile of a man who had experienced rejection before, and had learned to cope with it all too well. It was the smile of someone who was too nice for their own good, someone who didn't have the heart to put their own wants and needs above those of another.

From Tetsuo's point of view, however, it was quite a bit simpler than all of that. Men are rarely complicated, you see. _Man, she was pretty _he thought.

Riko broke.

"Hey."

He turned to look at her.

"My name's Riko."

And then she was gone, her reddish hair whipping out of sight as Tetsuo's mouth stretched into its widest smile yet.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

The rest was history. Love is a funny thing. One minute you're running for your life while being pursued by a crazed, highly-trained human death machine, and the next you're meeting your future husband. Ces't la vie, as they say.

It hadn't always been easy, being married and still keeping her rather unique job, but they'd made it work. Everything was going according to plan. At least for a little while.

Motherhood changes a lot of things.

Teto had come along quite early into their marriage. Neither of them could have been happier, if a little surprised. They were young, they were in love, it was perfect. But life is very rarely perfect, if ever. Such was the case here.

Being a special operative isn't mutually exclusive with being a mother, you see. Putting her life in danger even occasionally was out of the question. With Teto to think about, there was just no way Riko could risk it. So, with only a little regret, she traded her life of action and suspense for a more quiet one of caring for her child.

Things stayed that way for several years. They got along very well. Teto spoke her first words, took her first steps, rearranged the house with random bursts of Vocal power that went almost completely unnoticed by all but her mother, all the normal things that come with raising a child.

Then she got the call.

That one day changed everything. They were set financially, Teto was old enough to be in daycare most days while they were at work, life was moving along at a pleasurably slow pace.

Riko Kasane had been moving far too slowly for far too long.

When her former employers contacted her as their primary choice for stealth expertise in a high-profile assignment, she jumped at the chance. Tetsuo was reluctant, but understanding. Riko had always loved what she did, after all. With an assurance that the assignment would be a non-dangerous one, he gave his blessing.

That was the first lie that Riko ever told her husband. If only it had been the last.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

The Utane household had suddenly become very lively for such a quiet time of night.

"Dammit, Mad!" Roger Utane cursed. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

Mad feigned a look of contemplation. "You mean besides marking your house as the prime location for a police investigation, using your daughter to make you cooperate while simultaneously involving her, and setting us all up for the adventure of a lifetime? No, I haven't the foggiest. Please enlighten me."

Roger glowered. Mad grinned.

Uta simply stared.

With another vehement expletive, Roger turned to Uta. "Don't move. I'm going to go and get your mother." He turned to Mad. "And don't you even _think_ about leaving or I swear to God you will learn the definition of suffering."

Mad gave him a winning smile. "The thought never even crossed my mind!"

Roger turned around and dashed up a set of stairs to the second floor. Mad looked at Uta.

"I'll bet you've never seen this side of your dad before, have you?"

Uta sank backwards in her chair, her face still an expressionless mask. "You know, a few days ago this would have surprised me."

"Huh?"

"Yeah. Say all this happened last week, before the relocations and all that. I probably would have been pretty shaken up by it all. "

She turned to Mad, her face unreadable. "Now, though? Well, I've seen so much in the last 24 hours that at this point you could grow a second head and I probably wouldn't so much as bat an eye. I'm so confused right now, you really have no idea."

Mad chuckled at that. "Aw, come on. We haven't even started in on the fun stuff yet!" He leaned in close, grinning like a madman again. "The rabbit hole goes deep, Alice."

Uta stared back, blinking lazily. "You are the weirdest person I have ever met in my life. Considering Teto is my best friend, that's saying something."

Mad laughed heartily. "Trust me, girl. You haven't seen anything yet. Wait until you meet the people _I _used to hang around with."

"Yes, how _is_ Miki these days?" came a voice from the base of the stairs. They both turned to behold the form of Sarah Utane. She was clad in a fluffy bathrobe, and it was clear from the way her arms were crossed and her foot was tapping that she was considerably less than pleased. Even Roger, who had descended the stairs behind her, was hanging back several steps.

Mad faltered for only a moment at the sight of the irate woman. His normal bravado returned in full force only a moment later, however.

"Sarah!" he said, spreading his arms wide. "It's been so long! How have you-"

*SLAP*

Sarah's palm connected brutally with the left side of Mad's face, interrupting him mid-sentence. Mad staggered, dazed slightly by the unexpected viciousness of the woman's strike. He recovered quickly, working his jaw.

"That's for waking me up" said Sarah, her expression one of supreme annoyance.

"Yeah… guess I deserved th-"

*SMACK*

The second slap was no less brutal than the first, again sending Mad reeling. He took a step backwards, swaying slightly on his feet.

"That one was for involving my daughter!" said Sarah, still eying the screamer with a look of distrust.

"Ok. That one was probably fair too…" said Mad, rubbing his cheek.

Sarah's expression softened slightly. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, it's lovely to see you again. You're scruffier than I remember."

"And you're stronger than I remember" replied Mad, cracking his neck one way, then the other. "We really should get together more often. Y'know, more than once in ten years. Do some catching up and all that."

"Well, you have to realize that it would be a bit awkward to chat over dinner with the man who nearly got me killed."

"It was one time!" said Mad. "_And_ I even apologized afterwards!"

"It was three times and I even lost my favorite necklace during the second one" said Sarah with a flat look. "That's not even mentioning all the times you nearly got my husband killed, which are too numerous to count."

"Hey! That time with the bear was his fault!" he pointed an accusatory finger at Roger. "And I didn't hear him complaining while we were being shot at!"

"That's because you drugged me!" Roger cut in angrily. "And if you hadn't antagonized those smugglers we wouldn't have had to set the bear loose in the first place!"

"Dad?"

"Oh please! Surely you aren't implying that you didn't like Sir Honeypot? He was the best bear I've ever met!"

"The bear wasn't named Sir Honeypot! That's just what you tried to tell the customs officer! Which, might I add, didn't work in the slightest! Seeing-eye bears don't exist you idiot!"

"Umm… Mom?"

"Honestly, you two bicker like children!" said Sarah, hands on her hips. "I think we can all agree that it was the idea of trying to bring a bear into an airport in the first place that gave you away, regardless of strategy."

"It would have worked, I tell you!" said Mad. "I had the sunglasses and the cane and everything! If that stupid baggage handler hadn't pissed it off we would have been through there without a hitch!"

"MOM! DAD!"

They all turned to look at Uta. She simply pointed to the window, where flashing red and blue lights could be seen rapidly approaching from down the street. These were accompanied by the blaring of sirens. She pursed her lips. "Shouldn't we be doing something about that?"

The three adults looked at each other. "I propose a temporary cease-argument. Effective until such a time as our current predicament is resolved" said Mad quickly. The other two nodded in agreement.

"Alright, we need to move fast" said Roger. "Follow me."

He walked over to the handrail at the base of the stairs. Grasping the newel post at the end of the banister, he gave it several counterclockwise turns before something unclasped and the entire head of the post came off, revealing a cleverly hidden button, which he pressed.

With a faint rumbling noise, the first six steps of the staircase detached from their fellows and swung downwards, turning from steps leading up to a set leading down. They settled into place and a light clicked on, illuminating a staircase at least twice the length of the one leading to the upper levels of their house. It descended into the earth to culminate at a heavy steel door with a number pad next to it.

Uta's mouth hung open. Somehow, the universe was still managing to find ways to surprise her even after everything that had happened. Looking at the portion of the stairs that had swung down, she finally figured out why those particular steps had always sounded so clunky compared to the others.

"After you" said Roger to his wife as he screwed the head of the post back into place. He followed her, Uta behind them, with Mad bringing up the rear.

"After her to where?" asked Uta breathlessly.

"The vault" came her mother's simple reply. She didn't elaborate on the name.

As they reached the bottom, the hidden stairwell now somewhat crowded, Roger flipped a switch on the wall next to him. Behind them, the upper half of the stairs folded back up into what was now the ceiling, wiping out any trace that they had ever moved in the first place. A light flicked on as well, casting the narrow corridor in a dim illumination.

At the head of the procession, Sarah punched a few numbers into the pad by the door. With a clunk, a locking mechanism released and the door swung inward. Beyond was complete darkness. They all shuffled inside. There was fair amount of bumping and jostling as they all attempted to maneuver in the limited space.

Uta heard some shuffling, followed by a click, and suddenly the room was illuminated by several bright fluorescent lighting tubes set into the ceiling. She failed to stifle a gasp at the sight in front of her.

If the fact that her father owned a gun had been a shock, it was nothing compared to this. Numerous wooden racks filled the middle of an entirely concrete room. Upon them rested all manner of assault weaponry of varying size and caliber. A large metal cabinet sat affixed to one wall, its doors thrown wide. Visible inside were several models of shotguns.

An enormous table ran the length of the far wall. Upon it sat several display cases all filled to capacity with more types of pistols than Uta knew or had ever cared to know existed. More racks and shelves filled all remaining available wall space with hundreds upon hundreds of firearms, all of them gleaming in the stark lighting.

Uta could barely comprehend the sheer amount of guns on display. Besides the rifles, pistols, revolvers, shotguns, and plenty of other types that she couldn't even name, two large metal prongs jutting out of one wall held upon them the massive shape of an actual rocket launcher. Vault nothing, this was an armory.

She stared, trying in vain to wrap her head around the fact that there was a hidden trove of weapons large enough to make the military jealous hidden beneath her house. Everywhere she looked, more and varied tools of destruction met her gaze. Words failed her. The sight was simply too much.

"Impressive" said Mad, whistling appreciatively. "It's a bit smaller than I remember, though."

Uta's mind reeled. There used to be _more_?

"I had to downsize a bit when we moved in here" replied her father. "There just wasn't enough space. It's more of a hobby than anything, anyways."

"A hobby, right" said Mad, quirking an eyebrow. "As if you aren't intimately familiar with every single gun in this room."

"Alright then, a very involved hobby."

"And I suppose those hold all of your catalogues and news articles, right?" Mad gestured towards a series of large crates arranged on the floor. "Certainly not a staggeringly large surplus of ammunition."

Roger fidgeted a little. "Ok, so I'm a bit of a doomsday enthusiast. What of it?"

"What of it?" Mad smiled. "Considering who's currently breaking down the doors upstairs, I'd say that you're the best person on earth to be stuck in this basement with.

Roger gave him a warning look. "First of all, I'm not your buddy. Second, I keep all of these down here because I really like guns, not so I can have a shootout with the police if they ever come knocking."

"You can't deny it would be fun, though" said Sarah, sidling up to her husband. "You might finally get to try out that lovely foreign one with all the designs that I like so much."

Roger gave her a flat look. "Don't agree with him, it'll only make him think it's okay to keep going. Besides, that's an antique musket. It's over 100 years old. Asking me to fire it is like asking a toy collector to open up one of his boxes."

"You mean this one?" asked Uta from the other side of the room, holding an ornately decorated sort of a rifle.

"Yes, that one" said Roger. "Firing it would depreciate the value by at least-"

He stopped abruptly, spinning around to face his daughter. "Uta! Put that down!"

She gently placed the gun back onto its holder. "Mom's right. That one's cool looking." She paused for a moment. "Why do you have so many guns?"

"Because a long time ago I made some bad decisions" said Roger. "Ones I would very much like not to make a second time."

"You mean because you used to be a total badass?" Mad interjected.

"I wouldn't call what we used to do 'badass'" said Roger, with a hint of annoyance.

"What did you used to do?" asked Uta.

"It's not important" said Roger.

"Not important?" said Mad, a hint of something implacable in his voice. It sounded almost like… anger? "Forgive me, but how is it not important?"

"It's nothing that Uta needs to concern herself with" said Roger insistently, shooting a pointed look at the man opposite him.

Mad narrowed his eyes. "I think you should be a little more open with her. Considering who we're up against, I'd say she needs to know all she can. It's clear that you've kept pretty much everything from her, anyways. What better time to tell her than now? Think of it as a sort of bonding experience."

"There are things that a teenage girl doesn't need to know" said Roger, his voice rising slightly.

"There are things that _she_ needs to know if wants to protect herself!" said Mad, his voice rising as well in an uncharacteristic show of anger.

"_She_ won't need to protect herself because _she_ won't be fighting! _I_ won't be fighting if I can manage it for that matter!"

"Open your eyes, Rock!" Mad yelled. "You don't have a choice!"

"Yeah, you've pretty much made sure of that, haven't you?"

"Oh come on! You know that they would have come for you eventually. Just because you aren't a Vocaloid doesn't mean they don't see you as a threat! If anything I've only sped things along. You're in this whether you like it or not! You _and_ your family!" he looked to Sarah, then Uta. "It's not fair. I get that. But regardless of whether or not you want to, all of you are going to have to fight at some point. That includes her!" he pointed at Uta, who observed the spectacle with a bemused expression.

"Uta is not a soldier!"

"No! She's your daughter, and hiding the truth from her is not going to help her!"

Roger glared at Mad. The human amplification device stared back with equal fury. For several tense seconds, the pair simply stood like that, their eyes shooting daggers at one another.

Roger was the first to break the deadlock. He growled and looked away. Mad's words had struck a chord. Protecting his daughter by sheltering her was no longer an option. As much as he hated it, he knew that Mad was correct. If they were indeed dealing with the same people… the same person… then it wasn't a matter of if they found you, only when.

He started slightly at a hand being placed on his shoulder. Sarah gave him a soft look as he met her eyes. "He's right, Roger. She can't stay a child forever. You'll have to let her grow up sometime."

He hissed and let out a long breath. As much as it hurt to admit, he was forced to differ to his wife's judgment as well. "Fine. Have it your way. But I swear to God, Madra, I don't want you putting ideas in her head. Our line of work is no place for a young girl."

"No arguments about that. I'm only trying to be realistic."

"Don't hurt yourself. Reality doesn't suit you."

"Hello?" said Uta, having observed the entire exchange with a growing sense of both trepidation and anticipation. "Young, confused teenage girl here. You _still_ haven't told me anything! Why are all these guns under my house?"

The two men stopped abruptly, both shaken out of their argument by Uta's interruption. With one last meaningful glance at Roger, Mad once again slipped easily into his usual devilish grin.

"Ok, so first of all, your dad owns all of these guns."

"Yeah. I got that when he said they were his" Uta deadpanned.

Mad ignored her. "As for why they're under your house, I would imagine it's because having this many guns in one place might be a little suspicious." He paused. "Actually, scratch that. It's probably because a lot of these used to belong to people who are now dead."

He noticed Uta's look of shock and quickly continued.

"Not that your dad killed them, of course" he said hastily. "They're just not, you know, alive anymore. Kind of lends itself to suspicion." He thought about it briefly. "Also, plenty of these probably don't have any formal registration or even a valid serial number which is _very_ illegal."

Uta gave her father a disbelieving look. He shrugged in response.

"What can I say? I like guns."

"How did you get this many, though?" asked Uta. "There must be like, a thousand guns in here!"

"Actually there are 2328, but that's beside the point." Noticing Uta's dropped jaw, he uselessly amended: "I _really_ like guns."

She looked to her mother. "Did you know about this?"

In response her mother walked over to Roger and planted a small kiss on his cheek. "What can I say? I like guns too." Roger rolled his eyes.

"The point is" he said, "I've accumulated a very respectably-sized collection over a long period of time. How I accumulated it, however, is a part of my life I'm not proud of."

He stopped for several moments, mulling over his next words in his head. When he spoke again, it was with an air of detachment and a slightly melancholic lilt to his voice.

"I met Mad a long time ago. We went to the same high school. I was pretty different back then, he was pretty much the same. We were two young guys with big dreams and no plans to achieve them. It wasn't until we scraped our way past graduation that we realized exactly how badly prepared we were."

He glanced at Mad, who continued where Roger left off. "We got some jobs, didn't like em'. Went to college for a while, liked that even less. The parties were good, but the only subject I ever knew anything about was Vocaloid Studies. Eventually that would turn out to be a lot more significant than I thought, but at the time I didn't really care."

"We didn't have anything else to fall back on" said Roger. "Our parents wouldn't take us back. We couldn't handle normal work without going insane from boredom. With no other options, we decided to enlist."

"The military was awesome" interjected Mad. "The taking orders part took some getting used to, but otherwise it was paradise for us. As long as we showed up for work and followed the chain of command, we could pretty much do whatever we wanted, within reason. They even had classes for Vocaloids on how to manage their abilities. I took some of em' for the hell of it and found out that I was actually really good at figuring out the structure behind Vocal powers, namely other Vocaloids powers."

"It's basically the only initiative he's ever shown in something that wasn't completely stupid" said Roger. Mad ignored him.

"Yours is very interesting" he directed at Uta. "Really unique. I've never seen anything quite like it. If you'll let me, or I guess if old stick-up-his-ass here will let me" he pointed at Roger, "I'd like to take another look sometime."

"Anyways" said Roger pointedly, cutting him off, "I couldn't exactly learn to use powers I didn't have, so I signed up for advanced weapons training instead. To make a long story short, I was quite good at it."

"'Quite good' doesn't even come close" said Mad. "Don't be so modest, Rock. You broke every on-base record there was to break."

The edge of Roger's mouth twitched slightly in an almost imperceptible smile. It disappeared quickly.

"Whatever. The point is: I was a natural."

"Before long we both joined special ops to put our talents to better use" said Mad. "It gave us even more freedom than before, so we were all for it at the time. We pretty much stayed like that for the next eight years."

"We got very good at our respective jobs" said Roger. "By the time I met your mother, I was already one of the most well-respected combat arms authorities in the country. Mad's expertise on Vocal Energy Wave analysis and reconstruction put him in a very enviable position as well. To be honest, we both got a little full of ourselves."

"I'm _still_ a little full of myself" added Mad.

"Being as confident in our own abilities as we were, we accepted without hesitation when we were offered spots on a team of experts that was being assembled, at the time, for 'undisclosed reasons'."

"That's military talk for 'we'll tell you when you get there'" said Mad, with a roll of the eyes. "Believe me, if we had known what we were getting into, neither of us would have said yes, and when _I'm_ the one saying that something is too much for me to handle, that's when you know it's time to back out."

"There were three others that got chosen as well. Mad and I were only two spokes in the wheel. They'd also gotten an explosives expert and a young girl who was apparently the best tactical fighter in the entire armed forces. There was also Riko."

"Teto's mom, right? What was she there for?" asked Uta, intensely curious.

"Riko was brought on to assist with stealth and reconnaissance. To be fair, she was _extremely_ good at it."

Uta looked at him incredulously. "So the woman that I've seen practically fall down stairs, cut herself while chopping vegetables, and run into door frames was your stealth expert?"

"I'll admit she had her quirks" said Roger. "It's probably where Teto got it, come to think of it. But when it was time for action, that woman was infallible."

"That's what I don't get" said Mad, brow furrowed in thought. "You said she got taken, right? How did that happen? Knowing Whisper-" he looked at Uta. "That was her nickname, by the way, since she was so quiet when she was doing her thing. Anyways, knowing her, how did she ever manage to get herself caught? The Whisper I knew would have been out of here months ago before they even had a chance!"

"They came for her a day before the rest of the town, if that makes any difference" added Uta, helpfully. "The relocations weren't supposed to happen until today.

Mad waved her comment off. "That's just their way of trying to be sneaky about it. I'll tell you now, there's definitely some more covert authority looking for the four Vocaloids from our group. Anything else would just be for show. If the rest of us, minus your dad, of course, actually had permanent residences, they probably would have come for us yesterday as well, probably not expecting to actually find anything." He thought about it for a moment. "In fact, my apartment is probably under martial law at this point… I hope they don't touch too much of my stuff…"

"It was her daughter, I'm sure" said Roger, steering the conversation back to its original purpose. "The reason she didn't leave, that is. Teto's been living with us for the past few weeks. I was thinking the same thing that you were, Mad. I thought that she sent her here so that she could safely fake her own death or something to throw them off. I should have known better, though. She hasn't been the same since her husband died."

"Tetsuo's _dead?_" asked Mad in disbelief. "Holy shit, Rock, what happened?"

"Not that _you_ would know, since you haven't spoken to Riko in over a decade, but he was killed. He died a little over nine years ago."

"Jesus…" said Mad, putting a hand to his head. "I liked that guy. Only met the kid once. She was a cute little thing, I'll admit. Her hair was the same color as Whisper's, I remember."

"He died about a year after we all broke up. I don't think Riko could have left Teto if she wanted to. That girl is the only part of her husband she still has left, after all." Roger's voice was somber as he spoke. "That's not the point. The point is, she didn't get out when she should have, and now she's been taken. And from what you've said, there was probably a reason for it."

"The reason is pretty obvious, isn't it?" said Mad. "We're _us_. That's all the reason he needs."

"Who's 'he'?" asked Uta. "Is it that puppet guy or whatever?"

Both Mad and Roger's faces darkened considerably.

"Yeah… him" said Mad. "It was always about him."

"He was the reason they put our group together in the first place, though they didn't know exactly who he was at the time."

"Who is he?" Uta asked. "What's so bad about him?"

"You know all this that's been happening for months?" asked Mad rhetorically. "All of this Vocaloid crisis crap? It's his fault. He tried to do the same thing ten years ago. He probably would have done it, too, if we hadn't stopped him."

"He's a Vocaloid. That much we know. A very powerful one. He has a very… strange set of abilities. Even after over a year of tracking him down and learning everything we could, we still weren't completely sure how he did some of the things he did."

"Mind control" said Mad simply.

Uta was understandably skeptical. "Mind control? There's no such thing."

"It's not really that simple" said Roger. "We know that he controls other people's actions, but it's a lot more extensive than that. Some of the people he manipulated took years of therapy to fix. What was unsettling was that even after he disappeared, they still kept thinking and acting the way they did before. It's more like personality control, for lack of a better term."

"He controlled a lot of people, too" said Mad. "The guy changes faces like you and me change clothes. It's why he was so damn hard to pin down. You couldn't ever really be sure if it was him or not."

"Did you ever catch him?" asked Uta.

"We thought we did" said her father. "It took forever, and we'd figured out most of what he was trying to do by that point anyways. He was the last piece of the puzzle. We cornered him, and he actually laughed. He told us that it was nice to finally meet us all, and that we'd played our parts perfectly."

"If you couldn't tell, he's completely insane" added Mad.

"I never bought that. The things he did weren't something a crazy person could come up with. He was a sick, twisted, psychopath maybe, but not crazy. To this day we don't know how he got away. One moment he was there, and the next he wasn't. We never saw him again. The higher-ups stopped diverting funds to a project that they thought was over, and we disbanded. None of us stayed in the special forces. After all that we went through, I guess normal life just seemed a lot more appealing than it had before."

"So wait a second…" said Uta. "This was ten years, ago. You mean I was alive when all of this happened? Because I don't remember anything about it."

"You wouldn't" said her mother. "Your father took a huge risk and broke more laws than I can count just by telling me. You were only five. We didn't want you to know, _ever_."

"Life's a bitch sometimes, though" said Mad. "Stuff happens, people get mind controlled, governments topple… what can you do? Besides, now is where the fun part starts."

"Madra…" said Roger warningly.

"What? I was sent here to get you. You are now conveniently without any better options than to come with me, and unless you plan on spending the rest of your life in this room, then I'd say it's high time we got ourselves moving. That qualifies as fun in my book." He ended his statement with a trademark grin.

"You've left out one important thing" said Roger. "The house is surrounded by police, and the only exit is the way we came in."

"Details" said Mad waving a hand dismissively. "I'll have us out of here before you know it."

He paused for moment, then added: "On a related note, how attached are you to your house?"

Roger groaned.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Gumi Megpoid walked through the kitchen door.

She briefly wondered if it was quite a good idea to enter a door that Miki had recently entered, for fear of being accosted in some form or another.

Her fears were quickly confirmed.

"YOU!" said the voice of the aforementioned superheroine, her finger pointed directly at Gumi's face, and positioned entirely too close to be comfortable.

Gumi stumbled backwards into the door she had just opened and nearly tumbled back out into the restaurant.

"M-me?" she stammered back.

"Yes, me!" said Miki. "Me… that is to say, you, I suppose. Me as in you. But… me as in me as well, I guess. Me as in you, and me as in me. Me and you. You and me. Both of us. We have a commonality of interest."

Gumi was still trying to parse the first part of Miki's attempt at a sentence that somehow, unsurprisingly, ended up as a train wreck.

"A commonality… what?" she decided to forego trying to understand the things the woman said. Somewhere, a language instructor was spontaneously bursting into flame, she was sure.

"Mutually shared. Coinciding. There is a thing at a place that both of us could consider beneficial."

"I understood the vocabulary" said Gumi.

"Then why did you ask?" returned Miki.

"I wasn't asking about the- you know what? Never mind" she said. "What are we both interested in?"

"Ann tells me that you are looking for a way to contact your friend. I too am seeking someone, though I wouldn't call them a friend. More of a mortal enemy, really…" she shook her head. "That is not the point. The point is that I believe I have found a way to meet both our needs. You require the use of specialized equipment in order to reestablish communication with your comrade, yes?"

"Yes…" said Gumi tentatively, "but how did you-"

"And I require access to privileged information the knowledge of which would be a crime punishable by execution. As luck would have it, we can find these things surprisingly close together."

"And that would be… where?" asked Gumi, liking less and less where this conversation was headed.

"A military base, of course! Where else can you find both sophisticated satellite communication over secure lines and the juiciest of government secrets? We go in, get what we need, and then leave. There's absolutely no hassle involved!"

"Except for the part where we have to go in, get what we need, and then leave, you mean?" replied Gumi sarcastically.

"No hassle whatsoever!" said Miki, her grin slightly manic. "Besides, if things go south, I'll just blow it up and we'll move on to the next one!"

"Right…" the green haired girl massaged her temples. Miki was treating secure facilities like picking out fruit at the supermarket… only with explosions. "And you came up with this idea-"

"Two hours ago while I was erasing the specials board, yes."

Despite the fact that that wasn't how Gumi was going to end her sentence, it nonetheless summed up her reservations about the suggestion quite succinctly.

"Okay, so let me see if I've got this down…" she said. "You want us to go to a military base. Us. Two illegal Vocaloids who are known to be on the run. When we get there you want to bypass all kinds of security and armed personnel to get inside, then somehow locate both a satellite communications system and top level clearance for government databases. We then will somehow have to make the time to find everything you need and make a phone call, all while constantly evading detection, and after all that is said and done we just walk out. Did I miss anything?"

"Only that we're going to look amazing while doing it, since I fixed your clothes."

Gumi frankly didn't know what to say. It was mind-boggling, really. How could one person be this ridiculous? And she apparently acted this way because it was, quote, "fun?" She lacked any kind of social grace, threatened random people on a daily basis, and ranted and raved about spies and conspiracies to whoever would listen. And yet… she had survived this long, hadn't she?

Rather than try to dissect Miki's poor excuses for logic, Gumi just decided to roll with it. She paused, momentarily, her mouth hanging open and her hand raised mid-gesticulation. That was really starting to happen a lot lately. It must've been a side-effect of being around Miki for too long. Instead of saying "No, that's crazy, there's no way we can pull that off, go to hell" she instead settled for:

"Thank you."

"You're welcome" Miki paused. "For what? I mean, I _am_ a superhero and all, but it's a rare occasion when someone actually appreciates my help rather than demand that I fix everything I broke."

"For fixing my clothes" said Gumi. "You did a great job. You even patched up all the holes in the pockets that were there even before I spent the night in a bush."

Miki's face became dead serious. "That's because there is nothing, absolutely nothing that is more integral to a good piece of clothing than pockets. For superheroes, this is especially true, as we have to carry our gadgets somewhere."

Alright. So maybe Miki wasn't completely insane. She at least recognized the importance of the greatest invention in history. A modicum of understanding passed silently between the two women. Still, Gumi couldn't help but notice…

"But… you don't have any-"

"That's because I don't use any gadgets!" Miki yelled for no apparent reason.

Gumi couldn't think of anything to say to that. Somehow that was also becoming a common occurrence. One would think that with her extensive vocabulary, she'd be able to formulate more meaningful sentences. Perhaps Miki really was having an adverse effect on her. She decided not to think about it too hard.

"Ok… so… we're-"

"Leaving tonight! I'm glad you agree!" Miki immediately turned to leave.

"W-w-what!? Tonight!? I haven't even been here for two days!"

"Yeah! And it's high time you stop mooching, freeloader!" Miki said over her shoulder.

Gumi's eye twitched. It wasn't possible. This all had to be a dream. No one could be this insufferably illogical. She pinched herself.

Nothing happened. She sighed.

"Why do bad things happen to good people?"

"Because good people make it easy for bad things to happen to them!" came Miki's voice from further back.

She sighed again.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

"Wow, that sucks" Rin was saying.

"I know, right?" replied Miku, annoyed. "And then the lady was all like 'can you even read?' Like it was the most obvious thing."

"Can you? Could have fooled me" said Luka, smiling slightly. Miku shot her a dirty look.

"Anyways" she said, "the point is that now we don't know what we're going to do. How are we supposed to find out where Gumi is if it's 'privileged information'?"

"Oh, there are ways" said Len. "None of them are legal, mind you, but there are ways."

"I'm not sure I get it…" asked Miku.

"What's there to get?" explained Rin. "You just have to grease the wheels in the right places. You know, say the right thing to the right person? I mean, in our case it's usually more like threaten the right person the right way, or steal the right thing from the right place, but still."

"What _exactly_ are you trying to find out again?" asked Len.

Miku made to answer him, but Rin suddenly held her hand up and the party stopped.

"Hold it, we're here."

In front of them, the beams of their flashlights revealed the entire tunnel to be completely blocked. The light glinted off shiny objects and illuminated random shapes and figures.

"What the hell is that?" asked a confused Miku.

"It's a door, stupid. What's it look like?" replied Rin.

Miku stared. It certainly didn't look like any sort of door she'd ever seen before. For one, there was no obvious handle… or anything to denote that it was a door at all, really. What it _did_ look like was a mismatched pile of junk arranged in such a way that it blocked the entirety of the sewer tunnel.

There were boards, wooden pallets, pieces of sheet metal, rebar, chunks of concrete, a traffic cone or two… she even though she spotted a few glass bottles here or there used to plug up some holes. The end result was what really amounted to a mostly flat wall of detritus stretching from floor to ceiling.

Most notably as well as most noticeably, however, were the traffic signs affixed to most of the barrier's available surfaces. It certainly wasn't a very welcoming site, what with it being covered with messages such as _STOP, WRONG WAY, EXIT ONLY, _and _NO FOOT TRAFFIC._ Miku noticed how much bigger road signs looked when you got up close to them. She couldn't help but wonder where the twins had gotten them all as the beam of her flashlight illuminated each one in turn.

Nowhere on the entire structure was there anything to even suggest that it was in any way, shape, or form, a door. Frankly, it looked like it was meant to keep people out, rather than let them in.

The group of four had traveled a bit further after visiting the rooftop. The twins had led Miku and Luka through more tunnels that became progressively less maintained as they went on, and while this meant that they were quite a bit cleaner, it also left one to wonder why they were there in the first place.

Their journey had now culminated at this strange barrier, which definitely didn't resemble a door. Miku voice her opinion:

"Doesn't look like any door I ever saw."

"That's because you haven't knocked yet" she said. Stepping forward, she rapped a short but distinct series of taps on the metal surface of one of the signs with her knuckles. Several seconds passed and nothing happened. Then one of the smaller signs popped forward to reveal a small eye-slot. A shaft of light burst through before a pair of eyes moved to look out from the window.

"Who's that?" said the pair of eyes in the voice of what sounded like a teenage boy.

"It's us, numbskull" said Rin. "You're looking right at us."

"Yeah, but who are _they_?" He said, looking at Miku and Luka. Luka waved, and Miku grinned what she hoped was a disarming smile.

"Who cares? They're with us" said Rin, crossing her arms. "D'ya think that we'd really bring someone we didn't trust _here_?"

He eyed them suspiciously for a moment longer, but finally relented.

"Yeah, ok. I guess you've got a point. Hold on, I'm opening it."

The sign swung shut again and the group waited as a series of clicks and clacks from entirely too many locks sounded from the other side of the door. Several awkward seconds passed as the boy on the other side struggled with one that seemed to be stuck, until with a loud *clank* an entire section of the wall opened outwards.

Miku and Luka shielded their eyes as light suddenly flooded the corridor. Entering behind Rin and Len, they both paused for second, the sight in front of them catching them off guard.

They had emerged into a large, round, concrete room. The ditch in the middle of the tunnel split in two and traced around the perimeter until it met on the other side, making a complete circle. On the edges of the circular ditch were a series of metal gratings, presumably for drainage. A sizeable ledge ran around the edge of the room as well, upon which sat almost two dozen children. Some of them looked up as the group entered, others didn't.

To their right, they could see another wall of debris like the one they had entered through, presumably blocking a tunnel leading to a different part of the city. It looked far more complicated from this side. A large, rectangular section of it was lined with what must have been at least fifteen different mismatched locks.

On the side of the room opposite them, there was a large, open space in the concrete near the ceiling, covered by metal bars. The wall underneath was stained darkly, suggesting that it was where excess rainwater flowed down. It was currently dry. Daylight shone in through the bars, illuminating the entire chamber. Beyond was a huge, concrete ditch, the bottom of which was stained the same dark color as the wall.

The left side of the circular room was dominated by a hugely out of place road roller situated in a square tunnel that sloped gradually upwards, ending in a large set of metal doors.

"What is this place?" asked Luka.

"Home sweet home" answered Rin, eyeing the place with familiarity.

"You live down here?" asked Miku, looking at her surroundings skeptically. "Like… you actually _live_ in the sewer?"

"Like I said: It's the real world, Piggy" Rin said. "Nobody ever said it was pretty."

"But you live, like, you know… _in_ _the sewer_" insisted Miku, with a note of disgust in her voice. "There's like… rats and stuff."

"There's a lot worse than that" said Rin. "You should see the sludge that seeps out of the walls when it rains. Besides, the rats are sort of cuddly once you get past the smell."

Miku shuddered slightly. This was definitely NOT her idea of a suitable living environment. While less visibly nauseated than her protégé, Luka was clearly thinking along the same lines. Forget about the military presence and general destitution, this city had orphans living in the sewers.

"There's so many of you…" Luka trailed off, looking around the large room at all of its other inhabitants lining the walls.

"It used to be just us" Len chimed in. "Before the crisis, that is. Everyone here's been displaced or forced out onto the streets by the Vocaloid situation."

"These children are all Vocaloids?" asked Luka.

"Not all of them. We've got a few who had Vocaloid parents or relatives that they were staying with. Most of them are, though. A lot were already homeless, and were just forced down here when the feds moved in."

"Same trash, different slum" said Rin. "We've always been the ones that got thrown away, only difference is that now it's a crime."

"Well, not all of us" said Len. "There's a couple who were pretty well to do before this all happened. They haven't been taking it so well. We don't know all of their stories. They don't want to talk about it, you know? Can't really blame them. I probably wouldn't want to eith-"

"_Vitiga!"_

Len paused and let out a sigh. "Oh yeah, and there's her."

Who exactly _her_ was made itself apparent as a young girl jumped down from the ledge near the bars and came running across the room towards Len, whom she immediately latched onto.

"Her?" questioned Miku.

"_Vitiga…?_" said Luka quietly, a strange look on her face.

The girl suddenly took notice that Rin and Len were not alone, and quickly hid behind the boy, using him as a shield.

"This is Yuki" said Len. "We don't know why she's here, either. Not because she hasn't tried to tell us, we're pretty sure she has, multiple times, it's just that we can't understand a thing she says. Her name is pretty much the only thing we've been able to figure out."

"I think I can help with that" Luka interjected. They all turned to look at her.

Len looked taken aback. "You can? How?"

Luka strode forward. Yuki hid herself further behind Len, barely peeking around his shoulder The Vocaloid master knelt down to Yuki's level and looked at her with a gentle smile. She spoke:

"_Isa, Yuki. Mi'a nama Luka. Tu posse forcrana."_

The girl's eyes grew huge at Luka's words. Her shyness seemed to evaporate in an instant as she burst out from behind Len's legs, nearly knocking him over. She rushed up to Luka, babbling excitedly.

"_Tu linga Lucen! Mi'e lafigo ue na'ona linga. Une mi pios, kana?"_

"_Lapos" _replied Luka, sounding regretful. "_Nakana tu pios."_

The girl's face fell slightly, but only for a moment. "_A buno! Niforta tu linga Lucen."_

Luka smiled happily. "_Agra._" She paused for a moment. "_Ui tu'e ideno Len 'vitiga'?"_

The pair continued speaking back and forth rapidly, holding casual conversation. Luka thought nothing of it, happy that she had found someone she could talk to in her native tongue, the others, however…

Miku, Rin, and Len stood speechless, their mouths hanging open as the pink haired woman and the young girl continued to converse in what sounded to them like complete gibberish.

"What are they saying?" asked Rin.

"How should I know?" replied Miku.

"It's like I can't even see their mouths moving. They're talking too fast" said Len, watching the conversation intently. "How can they even keep up with each other?"

Luka laughed loudly and turned to face the rest of them, a smile on her face. "Oh, wow. That's refreshing. I haven't spoken Lucentian with someone in a long time. I almost forgot what it's like." She massaged her jaw slightly and added as an afterthought: "Man, that's still as tiring as ever."

_Then why would you do it?_ Miku thought to herself. She kept silent, however.

"So… you can understand her then?" asked Rin.

"Oh, definitely" said Luka brightly. "She's quite the conversationalist, really. She was just telling me how she ended up here. It's an interesting story. Her parents are Lucentian nationals, and they were deported when the quarantines started. She would have gone with them, of course, but they got separated. After a few days of searching, she gave up. Then she met you two."

She looked at Len with a devilish smile.

"She's very fond of you, young man. You should be flattered. _Vitiga_ means 'big brother' in Lucentian."

Rin elbowed Len in the side slyly. "Oh, is that so?" Len rolled his eyes, but couldn't hide the slight blush that crept across his cheeks.

"W-well, at least we know what happened to her now" he said.

"Great" said Miku. "Glad we got that figured out. That's one problem solved, but what about _our_ problem?"

"You should learn to be more sympathetic towards other people" said Luka admonishingly. "Yuki here has been through a lot. Her parents must be worried sick."

"I'm sure they are, and I would love to help her find them, but at least she's safe for now. I don't even know if Gumi is still alive!"

Luka weighed her words. "Fair enough. But how do you plan to find out?"

"I…" Miku stopped. She didn't know. In her usual manner, she had neglected to plan past 'I had an idea I thought was good so let's do it'. She cursed inwardly. Eyeing her master, she could see that Luka's smugness level was already approaching dangerous levels. "H-hold on! Give me a second!"

"You guys need to figure out where this Gumi girl got shipped to, right?" asked Rin.

"Yeah. What, you have an idea?"

"Well, the DVA would probably have the info you're looking for" Rin explained.

"Weren't you listening like ten minutes ago? I told you that we already tried that! It's restricted or something. The computers won't tell us."

"Did you try the computer in the supervisor's office?" asked Len, as if it was the most obvious solution.

Miku stared at him. "No, sorry. We didn't think to hijack the head honcho's PC, how silly of us." She gave him a flat look.

He pressed on. "No, I mean I was just suggesting that you should check there. It's pretty much a guarantee that he would have access."

"I think what Miku's trying to say is that it wouldn't exactly be easy to just walk in and do that. How would we even get to it in the first place? I would imagine it to be quite well secured."

"That's just because you haven't tried the right approach" said Rin, a glint of something in her eye.

Luka looked at her suspiciously. "I'm not sure I like where this is going…"

"I do!" said Miku enthusiastically. "Come on, spill it! You two know how to get in, don't you?"

The twins glanced at each other knowingly. Both their faces slowly broke out into matching devilish grins.

"We might" they said in unison.

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

Well that was fun! Finally I get to reveal how much of a badass Riko really is. Roger too, come to think of it. One of the motifs of this story is 'badass parents', and I intend to keep bringing that up in the future. Don't worry, you haven't seen anything yet.

Anyways, not much to say on this one except… yeah, there it is. I hope you enjoyed it! That section where they were speaking Lucentian was both very confusing and very fun to write, nevermind that my brain felt like someone had hit it with a hammer afterwards.

If you're wondering, yes, the Yuki in this chapter is Kaai Yuki the Vocaloid.

Shut up, grammar is hard. Here's the next lesson in Lucentian, which is on:

LESSON #4: _E, A, _AND _O._ PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Lucentian actually has a very simple way of determining past, present, or future tense in a conversation. This is because the tense is always dictated at the beginning of the sentence. If you want to convey that it is something that already happened, the correct letter is _e._ If it is currently happening, use _a, _and if it will occur in the future, use _o._ An example:

In this chapter, Luka used the sentence _Mi'a nama Luka. _As you can probably guess, this means "my name is Luka." However, it is possible that at some point in the past, or at some point in the future, her name either was not, or will not be, Luka. Of course that's not the case here, but let's examine what it would look like.

For past: _Mi'e nama Luka_: meaning "My name _was_ Luka."

For future: _Mi'o nama Luka: _meaning "My name _will be_ Luka."

In this case, since the word _Mi_ is being used, the tense is appended to the end of that, but usually, it is just used by itself. For example, "_E donama Luka"_ would simply mean "the name was Luka" without applying it to anything specific.

In addition, the tense takes precedence over most other words, making it the first in the sentence. Exceptions to this are when it is used with _mi, tu, _or any of the question words.

Next time: _Mi _and _Tu,_ Me and you.

On to the music!

"Japanese Ninja No. 1" – Well, this song is sung by Luka, but it really inspired for me the scene with Riko. She might as well be a ninja, with how she sneaks around. At least when she doesn't get caught. This isn't Riko's character theme, but it just seemed to fit for this chapter.

Link to youtube video: watch?v=6Z73O2WH2jw

That's actually the only one I've got this time around. The other scenes in this chapter had been coming for a while, and they were mostly just small bits of plot development and light humor.

As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

Keep your eyes open for the next chapter, it'll be around sometime!

AnarchySong, signing off!


	17. Alright, So Here's the Plan?

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…But the story is totally mine.

**********************************Chapter 17***********************************

"Alright, so here's the plan" said Len, standing over a crude drawing of the first floor of the DVA building. How he knew the layout of that particular building from memory, neither Luka nor Miku had any idea. They weren't about to question it, though.

"You two need to get into the upper levels of the DVA, right?" Len asked.

The pair nodded their agreement. Yuki watched in confused silence, unable to comprehend anything being said.

"We can get you in, but it won't be easy… or legal… or safe…" He frowned. "It's going to suck pretty bad in a few spots, come to think of it…" He settled on a determined look. "But it will work."

"Let's start at the beginning" said Rin. "The first problem is on the first floor. There're stairs, but the door only opens from the other side. So unless we want to cause a scene by breaking in, we'll have to use the elevator here." She pointed at a square in the upper left corner of the diagram.

"The problem is that the elevator requires a key card to be operated, and they only give them to employees and service personnel" said Len. "That means that we're going to have to get one somehow if we want to go up. Fortunately, we have a solution."

"Len and I have a… well, let's just call him a friend" Rin said with a hint of a smile. "He just so happens to be in possession of one of those cards, and he… uh… owes us a favor."

Luka and Miku both gave her skeptical looks. From what they had come to learn about Rin thus far, it wasn't hard to imagine that "he owes us a favor" may have been slightly less than the whole truth.

"What?" said Rin, noticing their expressions. "It's true!"

The two said nothing, still looking incredulous.

"Ok, fine" she said. "So we blackmail him from time to time, what's the big deal?"

"The point is" said Len, interjecting, "He's got what we need, and it won't take a lot of convincing to get him to give it up. What's problematic is what comes next."

"See, two kids, a teenager, and a random hooker-" Luka gave Rin a death glare, "-er, a random lady can't just walk in off the street and go on up the elevator without drawing some sort of attention, which is great for security but isn't so great for us."

"So how do we get up there, then?" asked Miku.

"If we look like we're supposed to be there, no one will even give us a second glance, but…" Len looked at Miku and Rin. "Well, I don't think you, Rin, and I could pass ourselves off as office workers. The DVA doesn't usually employ kids, after all. We… did have one idea…" he cast a sideways glance at Rin, then another, slightly nervous one at Luka. "But I'm not sure Luka will like it very much."

The Vocaloid master raised her eyebrows. "You're right. I already don't like it very much. But in the interest of being fair, let's at least hear it."

Len fidgeted a little. "Well, you see… we were thinking that maybe we could disguise you. As a mail woman. Delivering a package. If you move quickly you could probably walk straight through the door and into the elevator without anyone noticing that you aren't making an actual delivery."

Luka's eyebrows had continued to rise as Len spoke, and were at this point dangerously close to disappearing entirely into her hairline. "You're _very_ right. I don't like it at all. Besides, assuming I did get in, where are you three?"

The twins looked at one another again. "Well…" said Rin carefully. "That's sort of where the package you'd be delivering would come in handy."

Luka's eyebrows actually did disappear at that, her eyes widening in realization before narrowing again to a deadpan stare. "You want me to dress up like a mail carrier and smuggle the three of you in inside a box, don't you?"

"We have the box and the disguise already" Len said helpfully, a strained smile on his face.

"No" said Luka flatly.

"Aww… come on!" Miku said. "It'll be fine!"

"No" Luka repeated, crossing her arms.

"Come on lady, it would be a piece of cake!" added Rin, throwing her hands up. "You could even change out of your hooker clothes!"

Luka fixed her with another bout of the murder eyes. "Ok, _hell_ no."

As the entire scene unfolded before her, Yuki watched from the sidelines with wide eyes as the mood shifted quickly from excited, to incredulous, and now annoyed. While she couldn't understand the words, the emotions were easy enough to infer from the expressions and tones of the parties involved.

Obviously, Rin, Len, and the loud, blue-haired one were trying to convince Luka to do something. From the woman's reaction, however, it was very clear that she wanted no part of it. It looked like it was something important, though; very important, if the pleading expressions and strained voices were any indication.

The blue-haired girl seemed particularly animated in her squabbling. On the surface, she was quite clearly very angry. But there was something else there as well, hidden just underneath. What was it? It looked like…

Fear?

The girl was afraid, as if Luka's answer implied something that terrified her. But why? Why would a simple refusal have her in such a state? She was obviously one who was unaccustomed to being unsure of herself, so why now?

Yuki shifted her glance to Rin and Len. The twins appeared to be of the same opinion as the girl, albeit somewhat less emotional about it. Yuki frowned. In the time that she had known them, those two had seldom, if ever, been eager to stick their necks out for someone. It was rule number one of their harsh existence: trust no one. What had convinced them that this girl was worth their trouble?

Finally, she looked to Luka. Outright refusal was plastered all over her face. It was readily apparent that whatever the three were asking her to do, it wasn't something she fancied at all.

Still… whatever it was… it seemed really important. Her usually laid-back _Vitiga_ was very rarely this enthusiastic about things. She frowned. In fact, he was almost _never_ this worked up. Rin was always grousing about something or another, but for Len to be on the same page…

She made up her mind. Len had never led her wrong before, and she should trust his opinion now, even if she didn't quite know what that opinion was. It was important to Len, and that's all that mattered.

Her decision thus made, Yuki strode up to Luka and tugged on her sleeve.

"_Luka. Ui tu'a renuo Len?_" she asked innocently.

"Because his plan is stupid and won't work" Luka replied. She paused for a moment, forgetting that Yuki couldn't understand her. She turned to the girl. "I mean, _Len nakana meno-_"

Luka stopped. Her eyes narrowed. She was suddenly in trouble, and she'd walked into it like a fool.

Yuki's eyes were wide and wondering, without the understanding or emotional investment of the other three. They pleaded with her not for any specific purpose, but for all purpose, any purpose, whatever it was in the wide cosmos that her little heart desired. They spoke to her soul from intangible lips in a way that only the eyes of a child can, and as she looked into their depths she realized that she had never had any hope of winning this argument, not when there was a force this powerful against her.

In short, Yuki had the most adorable set of puppy dog eyes she had ever seen, and it crushed her resolve.

"You devious little imp" Luka snarled, narrowing her eyes.

Yuki simply tilted her head slightly to the side, the simple, naïve gesture nearly doubling the overall effect.

"Gah! Ok, ok! Fine! You win! I'll wear the damn costume! Happy?"

"Yes! Score!" said Miku. She gave Yuki a thumbs-up. The girl returned it hesitantly, not entirely sure what she'd just accomplished. She turned to the twins. "So, that's it then, right? Once we're in it's smooth sailing."

"Uh, not quite" said Rin.

Miku frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's not like we can just walk into the supervisor's office and use his computer" said Len. "We'll need one more thing. Don't worry. Rin and I can get it. Probably."

"Probably?" Miku raised one eyebrow.

"The guy's office and computer are both only accessible by him" Rin explained. "They don't have passwords, but only his personal ID card will unlock them. So we're going to steal it."

"As you're well aware, Rin's quite good at picking pockets" Len gave his sister a meaningful glance. "You should give Miku back her wallet, by the way."

Miku's eyes widened. She immediately patted herself down and found that she had indeed never gotten back the very thing that had caused her to chase down the twins in the first place. She glared at Rin as the girl reluctantly produced the aforementioned billfold.

"You just had to remind her, didn't you?" complained Rin as Miku snatched the wallet up with a *hmph*. The blonde girl stuck her tongue our childishly.

Len rolled his eyes. "The wallet _and_ the money…"

Rin shot a glare at her brother as she again reached into her pocket and pulled out a small wad of cash. Grumbling, she thrust it at Miku and turned around, crossing her arms and sticking her nose in the air.

"Case in point" continued Len. "She's _very_ good at picking pockets. It shouldn't be too hard to snatch it from the guy as he's leaving the building. Once we have that, we'll be able to get into his office and his personal files."

"Wait" Luka interjected. "If we're going to steal this man's card as well, why do we need the first one? Couldn't we just use the supervisor's for everything?"

"We _could,_ but it would be more dangerous" said Len. "The card scanner identifies everyone who goes through and keeps the info on record. When high-profile individuals like the supervisor use it, though, it also tells security so they can check the cameras to see that it's actually him and not someone that stole his card. Like us. If we use a less important card, like our friend's, it won't make us more suspicious than we need to be."

"So… after we get his card _then_ it's smooth sailing?" asked Miku, still not completely convinced that they couldn't solve this problem by smashing down a door and taking the stairs.

"Um… yes. I think so" said Len, trying to think if he'd forgotten something. "At least as smooth as it can be. It's not exactly going to be a walk in the park."

Miku wasn't listening past 'yes'. "Great! So when do we leave."

"In five days" said Rin, finally breaking her haughty silence.

_That_ got Miku's attention.

"What!? Five days!? I can't wait that long! Gumi might not _have_ that long!"

"Well, she'll have to tough it out" said Rin. "Our friend is a delivery driver who only makes deliveries to the DVA on Mondays, five days from now."

"Then get someone else's card! It doesn't have to be his!"

"Yes it does. If we use a different one, then how are we going to get in? We're kids, we're suspicious!" she pondered for a second. "Len and I are _really_ suspicious!"

"But… but what if-"

"She's right, Miku" said Luka, placing a hand on her student's shoulder. "We have to do this the right way, or at least as close to it as we can get. You won't be doing Gumi any favors if you get caught too."

Miku sputtered and made a few attempts at a retort, but ultimately came up with nothing. Luka was right, as was Rin. There wasn't any sense in rushing into this, despite the fact that rushing in was her go-to modus operandi. They couldn't afford mistakes, not on this, not when Gumi was in danger.

She remained silent for several seconds, contemplating. In spite of her best efforts to the contrary, Miku was experiencing a most un-Miku-ish feeling: fear. It wasn't something she was accustomed to, being afraid. She hadn't even considered herself capable of it. When had she become so weak?

She couldn't bear it, feeling this way. It was as if at any moment everything she cared about could be taken away, even though the very thought of that was ridiculous.

She realized at that moment that perhaps having a purpose was a bit of a double-edged sword. Even though she now knew what she cared about most, the one thing that gave her life meaning, it frightened her. It frightened her because now that she knew the one task at which she must succeed at all costs, that same task now had an alternative outcome the consequences of which were too dire to imagine: failure.

It was her calling, no, her duty to protect her friends. If she failed at that…

A strange feeling welled up inside of her. It wasn't anger, exactly. Nor was it sadness. Even so, it still threatened to make her hands shake and bring tears to her eyes. She suppressed the urge, if only just. If friendship could make her feel like this, then maybe it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. If she had to experience this, then perhaps she'd be better off without friends at all.

It was Luka's arm that pulled her back from the brink of despair, as she quickly recognized the feeling to be. Her teacher spun her around and placed her hands on the shaking girl's shoulders.

"Listen to me."

For whatever reason, Luka's voice snapped her out of her thoughts in an instant, her words pushing back the fog invading her mind like a dark cloud.

"We _are_ going to save her."

The instant the words left Luka's mouth, Miku knew them to be true. She had always known, really, had never really stopped knowing. What had she been thinking?

"You've got to have a little faith, though."

That was it, wasn't it? Faith. She was looking at things wrong. Her purpose wasn't a double-edged sword at all. Like friendship, it was more of a two way street. Gumi wasn't some helpless child, she was a genius. Of course she'd be fine.

"I know you want to keep her safe. I do too. But you have to give her a little more credit." Luka smiled. "She's stronger than that. _You're _stronger than that. What would she say if your positions were reversed?"

The answer was obvious. Gumi would have no problem believing in Miku's strength. She never had before. If her best friend wouldn't question it, what reason was there for her to question herself?

"You can do this. _We _can do this. You want to protect your friends, I know that. But sometimes you have to have a little faith that your friends don't need protecting. You'll save her, I promise. How could you not? You're _you_."

Geez. What on earth was she doing, acting like this? She wasn't some scaredy-cat. She was Miku Hatsune, world's toughest teenager. The fighter destined to surpass all others! She would save her best friend, and that was all there was to it!

As the fires of purpose burned ever brighter in her heart, despair sloughed off of her like she was shedding a burden. In an instant her eyes shone with renewed vigor, and she straightened up and stood proudly.

"RRRrrraarrrrghhh!" she yelled. Luka jumped back, startled. Yuki wasn't sure if the yelling was something she should be worried about, or if Miku was just saying something very loudly. Rin and Len stared at her like she was crazy. Maybe they were right. Miku shrunk back a little, embarrassed. "I mean, yeah! Of course we'll save her. I am _me_ after all!"

Luka sighed. It never ceased to astound her how fast her protégé could go from one emotion to the next. Still, she smiled. At least she was passionate.

"Yeah… right…" said Rin, obviously a little confused by Miku's outburst.

"That's… good?" added Len, unsurely.

Miku turned to them, the fire in her eyes blazing brighter than ever. "You're damn right I'm good!" she declared.

Operation: Information Infiltration was a go.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Gumi Megpoid was almost certain that she had never heard something quite as ridiculous as this.

And considering that she'd spent most of her childhood around Miku? Well, that was no small feat.

"Alright, so here's the plan" Miki was saying as she spread a map out on Ann's kitchen table. "Given three nights of nonstop travel, we should arrive at Shion air force base" here she pointed to a spot on the map some distance to the west, "at approximately 8:00 PM on Sunday, accounting for any unforeseen delays."

"And ah'm tellin' ya that yer bein' a damn fool!" yelled Ann. "You two are liable to get yerselves killed doin' this! Ah've long since come ta' terms with the fact that there ain't no power on this earth that's goin' ta' stop ya' from bein' an idiot, but ah won't have you draggin' this poor innocent girl down with ya'!"

Miki dismissed her with an airy wave of her hand. "Oh calm yourself. It'll be fine. All we have to do is keep a low profile and we'll be in and out before anyone's the wiser."

"Like hell it'll be fine! We aren't talkin' 'bout some vacation here! These are trained men! With guns! There is a very real possibility that ya'll could die!"

"I don't mean ta' take sides" said Al, "but I think Ann might be right, Miki. What yer plannin' ta' do could go real bad if yer not careful. It could go bad even if ya' are!"

"Pish posh" said Miki. "You two act as if you've never ninja'd your way into a secure facility before." She paused for a moment, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "You _have_ ninja'd your way into a secure facility, haven't you?"

Ann chose not to contemplate the meaning of the word 'ninja'd' and instead turned her attention to Gumi.

"Sugar, surely _you_ have ta' see how gosh darn foolhardy this all is?"

Gumi sat pensively in one of the kitchen's chairs. She gazed intently at the tile floor, lost in thought. In the past several hours since Miki had proposed this idea, she had been running over it in her head. Miki's plan was awful. By her calculations, which were very quick considering the only calculation she had needed was common sense, it carried approximately a 0% chance of succeeding, barring some act of God or the spontaneous generation of superpowers (Miki's already-present Vocal abilities notwithstanding).

And yet… she was still considering it. Hours after her genius intellect had immediately and quantifiably proven that Miki's "plan" was total suicide, she couldn't bring herself to stop wondering if maybe, just maybe, there was still a way.

It was beginning to scare her a little. She was thinking far too much like Miku to be healthy. If they tried this, they were almost certainly going to either be killed, captured, or some unholy combination of the two not necessarily in the order one might expect.

_But what if it worked?_ Whispered a voice in the back of her head. _You could make it work. All you need is a plan._

Yes, the suggestions of the less rational part of her mind scared her, but there was one thing that scared her even more:

She was still listening.

"Sugar? Gumi? Can ya' hear me?" Ann said.

"Oh, um, yes, sorry" she flustered. "I was just… thinking."

Ann tilted her head and narrowed her eyes just slightly. "Thinkin' 'bout _what_ exactly?" The restaurant owner didn't like the tone of Gumi's voice.

"Well…" Gumi began. "I was thinking that maybe… it's not quite as foolish as it sounds…"

Ann walked closer. "Darlin' please tell me ya' ain't considerin' this."

Gumi remained silent for a moment. _Was_ she really considering it? It was a terrible idea. Then again, it was hard _not_ to consider it when success meant that she might see Miku again.

"Not Miki's plan as such… no"

Ann breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank heavens. At least someone 'round here can still see reason."

Gumi hesitated before carefully choosing her next words. "Well, that is to say… not her plan as it is…"

Ann faltered. "Uh, come again?"

"I think that... maybe with the right planning and execution, some adjusted parameters, perhaps a slight re-orientation of our goals-"

"Sugar are ya' sayin' yes or no?" Ann deadpanned, clearly neither understanding nor caring to understand Gumi's dancing around the issue.

"I'm… yes" she slumped slightly. "I'm saying yes. I'm sorry Ann. It's just that I might have a chance of finding Miku again. I can't pass that up, no matter how…" she cast a glance at Miki, "how, er… dubious… the method might be."

Miki grinned widely. "See? Even the genius agrees! Great choice kiddo! I knew you'd see reason!"

Reason was the last thing Gumi saw in Miki's suggestions, that much was certain.

"What she's seein' is the wool bein' pulled over her eyes!" Ann exclaimed. "Ah am not yet so old and feeble that it ain't within' mah power ta' stop ya', neither!" She began rolling up one sleeve of her shirt. Gumi leapt to her feet, quickly interposing herself between Ann and her intended target.

"Wait! Stop!" said Gumi, holding her hands out in front of her. "Nothing's being pulled over my eyes, I promise! I want to do this!" She gazed pleadingly into Ann's incredulous expression. Slowly, Ann lowered her arms, letting the bunched up fabric of her sleeve fall back into place.

"What are ya' sayin' sugar?"

Gumi was silent for several seconds. "I… I'm not really sure that I know, exactly. I don't think I can explain it like you want me to. There's just something telling me…" she took a moment to collect her thoughts and tried again. "It feels like there's a voice inside me telling me to do it. It's been there since yesterday, whispering to me."

She noticed the slightly alarmed look that Ann was giving her and immediately realized how crazy it must have sounded to say that she was hearing a voice inside her head. She hastily amended:

"Not like that!" she assured, waving her hands about in front of her. "It's not an actual voice, more of a… feeling."

She turned to look back at Miki who, despite her normal affinity for being the textbook definition of incomprehensible, gave her a smile that said she understood. "I had sort of an… epiphany yesterday, for lack of a better word. I realized a few things about myself that I didn't like. As I am, I'm too weak to do anything. Even with all my intelligence I don't think I've ever really grasped the severity of what's going on. Governments, quarantines, genetic diseases? I'm just a girl with goggles."

She turned back to Ann.

"But… then I wound up here. This town is so different from everywhere else. It's like… it's like the Vocaloid crisis doesn't even exist here. Everyone knows each other, and they don't care whether you have powers or not, you're just a friend, no matter what you were born with."

She was silent for a moment, searching for the right thing to say. It was a novel experience for her, being at a loss for words. Such a problem doesn't often come up for one with such a large vocabulary, you see.

"That's what made me see it. Or really, _you're_ what made me see it. I walked into your diner looking like I did and you weren't afraid of me, or angry at me, or anything. I was so sure that I was never going to see a friendly face again, that the whole world was against me." She paused, feeling again a bit of what she'd felt the previous day.

"I was wrong. And believe me, I'm not usually wrong. It was… eye-opening, to say the least. On one hand, it meant that I had help, but on the other hand my home was still gone. Then you said something that made me think that maybe it wasn't as terrible as I'd thought."

She gave the woman a look that said more than words ever could. Still, she tried words anyways.

"You said that I was never alone. You told me that even if I'm by myself, I always have my friends. You were right. I couldn't see it until just recently, but you're right. I'm _not_ alone. I'll never _be_ alone. Not as long as I have people who care about me. If I have that… well, I think I can do anything."

Ann gave her a strange look. Her eyes were narrow, and it was clear that she still didn't think much of what they were about to do. However, there was also something else: understanding.

"Sugar" she said slowly, "ya'll are makin' it real hard ta' stay mad at ya'." She sighed heavily. "I s'pose ah can't argue with a speech like that, can ah? Yer sure that ya' have ta' do this?"

Gumi only nodded. Ann sighed again.

"Then ah guess ah ain't got no right ta' stop ya'." Her expression hardened slightly again. "But ah still think this whole plan is a fool's errand. It's rash and stupid and it'll prob'ly get ya' killed."

"Oh, no. I agree. It's incredibly stupid" said Gumi.

"Wait, what?" said Miki. "I thought you said you liked it!"

The teen genius turned to face her. "No, I said I thought that it could work. That doesn't mean I'm in favor of going along blindly with it." She smiled slightly. "In fact, I think I've made up my mind. I'm not going to go along with your plan after all."

"WHAT!?" said all three of the room's other occupants.

"But Sugar, ya'll said-"

"Miss Gumi, didn't ya'-"

"This is an outrage! My plan-"

"Hold on!" yelled Gumi. "You didn't let me finish. We're not going to go with your plan."

She smiled, wider this time.

"We'll be using _mine_."

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Uta was doing that thing again, that thing she had been doing a lot of lately. What was it again? Oh yeah. Staring blankly as yet another ridiculous event unfolded itself before her eyes.

"Alright, so here's the plan" said Mad, with a slightly worrying smile. "We're going to bust out of here. It might not be pretty, and it most definitely won't be quiet, but I have a very good feeling that it will be easy. All we need is this."

Having said that, he pulled something out of his pocket and held it up in front of him so the others could see.

"This little baby right here is going to solve all of our problems" he said, still grinning. The 'baby' in question was a small device that looked as though it was made out of some sort of opaque plastic. It was entirely featureless aside from a small metal prong extending out of one end. It's appearance reminded Uta of removable flash drives. The prong looked like some kind of jack for a computer port.

"Ember graciously allowed me to bring this along when she sent me to get you" he continued. "I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I'm really stoked to see how it works."

Roger eyed the device suspiciously. "What is it?"

"This, Rocky, is the next step in energy storage technology. It is the most sophisticated device of its kind, which is to say that it is the _only_ device of its kind in existence. Our organization acquired it several months ago, but we haven't had a chance to test it in the field yet." He paused for a moment as Roger raised one eyebrow at the word 'acquired'. "Ok so we stole it. Big deal. We need it more than the military, alright? Anyways, that's not the point. The point is that it's going to help us get out of here."

He grasped the end of the metal prong in his fingers and there was a slight spark, as something bright and red flashed along the metal before being absorbed into Mad's hand. He put the device back into his pocket and held his palm up. Just as Uta's energy had, the red spark hovered several inches above his hand.

Roger's eyed widened in apparent realization. "Mad, is that…?"

"You bet your ass it is" he said. "One point five microjoules of Vocal energy, stored in an entirely self-contained, transportable environment." His eyes practically shone with excitement as he spoke, locked on the pinprick of light floating in front of them. "Technology like this has never existed before. It's revolutionary. Given time, Vocal energy stored in this format could be used as a viable substitute for electricity. Can you imagine? A source of energy produced by the natural processes within the human body. The implications are staggering."

"Not exactly what I was going to say, but I guess that works…" said Roger, clearly not as thrilled by the mechanics of cutting-edge Vocal energy manipulation technology as Mad was. "Hmm… it looks like fire."

"Actually, you might not be too far off" said Mad. "This is a bit of Ember's Vocal energy, so it kind of _is_ fire, in a sense, only not really. It's kind of… oh who cares you know how it works with her. The only downside is that there's hardly any of it here. The technology behind Vocal energy storage is so new, it's not possible to keep more than an incredibly small amount of it contained, at least with what we have right now. Fortunately, I'm me, so that isn't much of a problem."

Uta wasn't sure, but she thought she had a pretty good idea what Mad was talking about. Judging by how he had turned a tiny spark of her energy- and she was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that it had been _her _energy- into a giant, swirling orb back in that cell, she imagined he was planning on doing something similar here. How exactly he did that, or _what_ exactly he was doing, she didn't know, but she had seen enough to expect that what was soon to transpire would be interesting to watch if nothing else.

"Madra, dear" Sarah cut in, with a slight hint of worry, "that's all well and good, but is that thing safe?" she cast a glance in Uta's direction. Uta rolled her eyes at her mother's protectiveness, then immediately reconsidered as it occurred to her exactly how incredibly dangerous what they were doing could actually turn out to be.

"Completely" he replied. "I can personally guarantee that the device is 100% safe."

Sarah relaxed slightly at that, though by the look on his face Roger didn't put nearly as much stock in Mad's personal guarantee as his wife.

"That said, you may want to maintain a safe distance of ten to twelve feet at all times for maximum safety." He grinned. "Now, grab what you need, I think it's time that we blew this joint." His grin grew slightly manic. "Literally."

He took a deep breath and looked at the orb, still floating above his hand. "You all might want to cover your ears."

~V~

An officer paced around the Utane household's living room. He was disgruntled. He'd been stuck with the crap shift, you see. The night before the relocations went underway and here he was, already out on a call about a renegade Vocaloid.

He glanced at his partner, who was of a similar opinion. They both sighed, resigned to their fate. There would probably be plenty more of these as the day progressed. Most of them would be false alarms, he was sure. He and every other officer on the force (of which there were only 5) knew this small town inside and out, and every one of them knew that none of the occupants of this house were Vocaloids. Still, the fact that the house was mysteriously empty was more than a bit suspicious. It was clear that there was something wrong here, but the man would be damned if he knew what it was. Whatever the case, whoever had been here was probably long gone by now.

But then something caught the man's attention. There was a strange sound coming from over by the stairs.

"Hey John, how long do you think they'll keep us going today?" asked the man's partner. John shushed him.

"Hold on a second… do you hear that?"

Both men listened closely and there was no denying it. There was a barely audible sound seemingly emanating from the stairs themselves. Listening closely, it sounded like… screaming?

All at once the sound ceased. The two men looked at each other.

"What do you think that was?" asked John.

"I don't know."

Another, slightly more audible sound met their ears. It sounded like large metal door hinges swinging open. It was followed a moment later by some muffled voices.

"Dammit, Mad. What are you trying to do, blow our eardrums out?"

"Hey, I gave you fair warning."

"Whatever. Here, move, you're blocking the switch."

John motioned to his partner to circle around to the side while he took up a position between the wall and the base of the stairs. Both men drew their weapons.

Suddenly, the entire bottom half of the staircase detached itself from the rest and swung downwards. As it clicked into place, now leading down instead of up, John looked down. There were no lights in the newly formed tunnel, and he couldn't see past a few feet. Nevertheless, he raised his weapon and pointed it into the darkness.

"Freeze!" he shouted at the blackness. "Whoever is down there, I want you to come up, slowly, with your hands above your heads! I am armed, and I will use force if necessary!"

Only silence greeted him. Whoever it was at the base, they seemed to have been caught unaware. There was some shuffling movement just beyond the man's field of vision, but no one made themselves visible.

"I said come out of there with your hands up!" he stated again.

Still there was no response, just a bit more shuffling. The officer began to get annoyed.

"I will not repeat myself again! Come out right now or else-"

Without warning, a gigantic fireball rocketed out of the darkness and hit the officer in the chest. It then exploded, sending flames everywhere and setting the man's clothes alight. He flailed around, trying desperately to put himself out. He dropped his gun in the process, the weapon bouncing away across the carpet.

"John!" his partner yelled.

"I'm fine!" yelled the first man, though he slapped at several places on his uniform that were still smoldering. "Stay back! They've got some sort of weapon! Try to-"

That was all he got out before a man came flying up the stairs.

~V~

"Yahoo!" yelled Mad as a burst of fire launched him all the way up the tunnel and into the living room. He slammed shoulder first into the officer he had blasted with the fireball, his entire body weight driving into the man's abdomen. The policeman wheezed as the air was driven from his lungs. The force of the impact drove him backwards into the wall behind him, which splintered.

The second officer immediately fired at Mad, who dropped to the floor to avoid the shots. As he fell he threw his hand out and another fireball roared to life. He loosed it at the second officer, who had no time to react before it blew into his side, sending him stumbling backwards to tumble over a couch, which proceeded to catch fire.

The first officer began to stir as Mad stood back up, but he was roughly shoved back to the floor by a fuzzy slipper-clad foot.

"I'd stay down there if I were you, dear" said Sarah, smiling sweetly. The man only groaned in response as she ground her heel into his already bruised abdomen.

"Please don't do that honey" said Roger as he ascended the stairs as well. "I'd like to give the authorities as little reason as possible to want us dead." Having said that, a 9mm pistol suddenly appeared in his hand. He proceeded to point it at the downed officer. "But seriously, she's right. Don't get up."

He glanced up at Mad, who was already on the other side of the couch, hauling the second officer up by his collar. His face paled slightly as he saw the damage that had been done to the sofa, a large section of which was now charred and blackened beyond hope of salvage. "Oh come on, Mad, really? That was a gift from my mother."

"Hey, furniture comes and goes" said Mad. He then proceeded to knock the policeman in his grip unconscious with a swift punch to the face. He grinned impishly. "It's the experiences that stick with you."

"Holy crap…" said Uta as she ascended the steps behind her father and observed the damage to both the stairs and the living room, as well as the two officers looking decidedly worse for wear. She looked at Mad incredulously. "I thought you said that thing wasn't dangerous!"

"It's not" he replied simply. "Never said anything about _me_."

"That was… surprisingly easy" said Roger. "I would have thought it would be quite a bit harder than that, but apparently our town's police force isn't all they're cracked up to be."

"What did I tell ya', Rock?" said Mad, walking over to slap him on the back. Roger shot a narrow-eyed glance back but didn't say anything. "We're home free! Now all we have to do is get ourselves to Soundsmith and we'll be safely in the hands of APPEND."

"The hands of what?" asked Uta.

"The resistance! The freedom fighters! The people's army, spearheaded by Ember herself! And me, of course. Why do you think I came all this way in the first place, just to say hi? This is a recruitment!"

Roger sighed and covered his face with a hand. "We're going all the way to Soundsmith? That's almost 200 miles away. I suppose you'll be wanting us to drive there in _my_ car as well?

"Wow, Rock. What a generous offer! I never thought-"

"Shut up" Roger cut him off. "I'm driving." He sighed heavily. "Why do I even put up with you?"

"'Cause if you put out for me your wife might get jealous! I wouldn't blame her though" he winked at Sarah. "I'm quite a catch after all. But our burgeoning bromance aside, I believe we've overstayed our welcome, don't you think? If the rest of you feel me I think it's time we got the hell out of here."

With that he turned and began walking towards the front door, hands in his pockets. "I call shotgun!" he called back over his shoulder.

"Over my dead body!" yelled Uta as she pushed past her father and ran after Mad.

Roger sputtered something unintelligible and turned to look at his wife, who had a light blush across her cheeks and was struggling not to laugh. His eye twitched in annoyance.

"I can't win today" he said.

"Oh, don't worry, dear" said Sarah, rubbing his shoulder soothingly. "I think that even though we've lost a lot today, we've gained other things too. I know I have. The thought of you putting out for Madra is going to stay with me for a long time." She finally lost her composure as laughter overtook her and she started to follow Uta and Mad towards the front door."

Roger let out his heaviest sigh yet and followed. "I guess it really is the experiences that stick with you." He slumped his shoulders. "I'll have to see what I can do about repressing memories."

A scream and several gunshots from the driveway assured that he wouldn't be repressing that day any time soon.

~V~

As Uta followed Mad out the front door, she just managed to grab onto his sleeve. "There's no way in hell I'm going to sit in the back for 200 miles. You can-"

"Freeze!" shouted a voice from directly in front of them.

Both of them stopped in their tracks, their breath coming up short at the sight of a third police officer in front of them. Apparently their town's force wasn't so incompetent after all.

Several things proceeded to happen very quickly.

Firstly, Mad came to some very fast conclusions. This officer was obviously no idiot. Having heard the commotion from inside, he had wisely chosen to take an advantageous position and watch the exit rather than blindly confront whatever it was that had taken down two experienced sqaudmates. He now had both the element of surprise, and the superior positioning, which he was currently utilizing to great effect. The screamer went on to realize that they were well and truly screwed unless he did something very stupid, and in very short order at that.

Thusly, the second thing that happened was that Mad immediately drew the simplest melody he could to the front of his mind and began to charge another fireball. His heart dropped out of his chest when the energy failed to come, producing only a weak, sputtering spark. He'd used too much of what he'd made earlier, and was now left with only his natural abilities, which, though impressive, could do nothing of what he needed at the moment.

Third, startled by the officer's sudden declaration, Uta screamed and threw up her hands to shield herself. This, coupled with Mad's attempt at conjuring another fireball, caused the already on-edge officer to discharge his weapon several times. Having no knowledge of how these people had managed to subdue his partners, he wasn't taking any chances.

Four. As the bullets left the gun's barrel, a bright purple light erupted out of Uta's outstretched hand. As it came into contact with the metal, the projectiles turned to dust mid-flight, peppering Uta and Mad with nothing more than a blast of stinging sand.

Fifth, and last, Mad came to several more conclusions, and proceeded to act on them. Seeing- or rather feeling- what had happened to the bullets, Mad immediately latched one hand onto Uta's right shoulder, the girl currently staring at her hands in disbelief, wondering how she'd done what she had. With a quick apology of "Sorry, kid" he proceed to draw a large amount of vocal energy out of her body.

Uta barely had time to say "wha-" before her mind was once again assaulted with the peculiar sensation she had experienced in the cell, this time much stronger. It traveled through her shoulder, up the side of her neck, and to her head, which exploded in a cacophony of sound. She shrieked again, this time in surprise, and jerked away as the sensation was just as quickly sucked right back down and out again through her shoulder.

It didn't matter, Mad had gotten what he needed. Without the time for one of his booster screams, he'd had to draw a great deal more energy than he normally would have felt comfortable with. The girl would be reeling for the next few minutes, but ultimately would be fine, which was a fair sight better than being dead if the officer was allowed to reload.

Fortunately, Mad didn't plan on giving him that chance. Raising his hand, he fired a burst of purple light directly at the officer's gun, hoping against hope that he was right about what Uta's powers could do.

His hope turned out to be well founded. As the blast found its mark, the gun glowed brightly before dissolving straight out of the man's grip, ending up as nothing more than a pile of dust on the ground. The man's hands remained untouched, strangely enough.

The officer's eyes widened as his weapon disintegrated and slipped through his hands. He looked up just in time to see another violet streak heading for him and rolled to the side out of the way. He wasn't quite quick enough back to his feet to dodge Mad's knee connecting with his face, however. The man crumpled to a heap on the ground, his nose bleeding profusely and bent at an odd angle, and his consciousness slipping away.

Mad slowly let out the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. The entire exchange had taken only seconds.

Uta gradually lowered her arms back down from in front of her and peered around timidly. "Wha- what happened?"

"The fun started" replied Mad, lightly tapping the side of the officer's face to make sure he was out. For someone whose life had been in jeopardy only moments before, he recovered remarkably quickly.

"You call _that_ fu-" Uta began, before she was silenced by Sarah suddenly drawing her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh thank God you're alright!" she said, immense relief evident in her voice as she planted small kisses all over the side of her daughter's face. "I heard gunshots and… oh thank heavens."

"Ah! Gah! Mom! Stop it!" Uta protested, trying in vain to extricate herself.

"What the hell is going on out here?" came the voice of Roger as he walked through the doorway, his tone even more annoyed than usual. "What were those gunsho- MY CAR!"

Mad cast Roger a quizzical look before he followed the man's expression straight to the vehicle sitting in the driveway directly behind the officer's now unconscious form. His eyes widened as he glimpsed what had happened.

Perhaps he should have thought to observe their surroundings a tad more closely before throwing around matter-disintegrating blasts of vocal power. The second shot, after missing its intended target, had proceeded to fly straight into the front right wheel well of the Utane family's car.

The damage was extensive, to say the least. The ball of energy had clipped the top edge of the tire, dissolving the rubber, and a portion of the hubcab as well, before meeting its final destination impacting against the frame supporting the underside of the vehicle, which had also mostly turned to dust.

"Oh…" said Mad weakly, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. He turned back to look at Roger with a sheepish look on his face. "Maybe we can fix it?"

A loud metallic groan announced the axel finally giving up the ghost and snapping in half as the weight of the car became too much for its weakened frame to bear. The whole front half of the automobile sagged to the ground, where it settled with a light crunching noise as an errant piece of steel went clattering away across the pavement, coming to rest only after it had insultingly bumped into Mad's boot.

"Ahh…." Mad sighed. He nervously attempted another grin as he glanced around at the family at large. "So… who's up for some long-distance walking?"

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

A dark train of thought plagued Riko Kasane as she lay in her cot with nothing to do but feel time slowly move along and think about days gone by.

Her late husband had been on her mind, in particular. It was amazing how much someone could miss another person. She wondered what it would have been like had Tetsuo not died, probably quite a bit different. She quickly forced those thoughts back down, though. There was no point in dwelling on the might have been when she was knee deep in the what actually happened.

But what _had_ happened? Where had everything turned so strange? The calendar told her it had happened some months ago when the quarantines began, but her heart had its doubts. It told her a different story, one of lies and loss, and one that she knew in the deepest part of herself was the truth.

It had gone wrong ten years ago, when _he_ showed up.

The puppet-man, Ritsu Namine. All of this was his fault, she had no doubt. She'd assumed that he'd been stopped a decade ago, after he literally disappeared, but some part of her had always felt that that was wrong. He'd been too smug, too much in control of himself as he wore that cocksure grin and taunted them. Somehow Riko had always known that one day he would return.

And looking at the state of the country, return he had. There were no signs that pointed to him that anyone but herself and the rest of her group would pick up on, but still, she knew. She was sure that the other four knew it as well, wherever they might be.

It made her so angry, thinking about it. How could one person be so evil as to uproot the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and their families? What could they stand to gain that was worth all that? Riko knew one thing for sure: it wasn't worth the safety of her daughter.

"Damn you, puppet-man" she cursed under her breath.

"I'm sorry?" came a voice to her left.

Riko started. She whipped her head around and saw a young man in a white coat tentatively pulling back the edge of the curtain surrounding her.

"Who are you?" she said, with slightly more venom in her voice than she intended.

"Please forgive me, I should have announced myself" said the man. "I'm Doctor Frerris, your attending physician. I came to see if you had woken up yet. I'm glad to see that your injury hasn't hampered your enthusiasm. It seems I might not be able to say the same about your mood, however…" he frowned.

Riko immediately felt embarrassed, snapping at the man like she had. She shouldn't have let her emotions get the better of her. It was important now more than ever to maintain an objective viewpoint, after all, lest she let her anger cloud her judgment.

"I'm sorry" she quickly amended. "It's nothing you've done. I've just had a lot on my mind lately. Being taken from your own home and separated from you daughter takes a certain toll on your polite sensibilities. I hope you can understand if I'm a little trite." She smiled, but could tell that it came off less sincere than she had intended.

The doctor at least seemed understanding, if nothing else. He smiled. "Of course, Mrs. Kasane. But if you don't mind I'm here to discuss your condition." He grabbed the clipboard off its hook next to her cot.

"Oh, of course" she said, eager to maneuver the conversation in a different direction. Obviously this man wasn't keen on bringing politics into his doctor-patient relationships, which was just fine by her. In her experience, it was better to leave personal feelings out of the equation. Professionalism was key.

"So, how do you feel?"

"Like I have a hole through my shoulder" she replied flatly.

He chuckled. "I suppose that's to be expected. Any pain?"

"Only a lot."

"Hm… noted. I'll up your morphine" he said, scribbling in the margins. "Is there any loss of feeling in your left arm?"

"No, unfortunately. I'm hoping the morphine can help with that."

Doctor Frerris chuckled again. "I have to say, Mrs. Kasane, you're dealing with this remarkably well, other than a bit of dourness, which I can't exactly blame you for. You have been shot, after all. Most people have a period of shock, but you're coming along nicely, especially at such an early stage."

"Let's just say I've had prior experience" said Riko.

"Yes, you have, haven't you?" said the Doctor.

"Excuse me?"

"It's not uncommon for people in your situation to have some psychological trauma" he said, continuing as if he hadn't heard her. "Have you had any headaches? Panic attacks? Undue anxiety?" He paused. "Aside from the obvious, of course."

"No. I feel fine. I'd say I'm sufficiently holding it together" she said, eying him with suspicion.

"Yes, you would be…" he said, still looking at his sheet.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"How about tightness in the chest? Shortness of breath?" he went on, again acting as if she hadn't spoken. "How about guilt? Feelings of inferiority?" A strange look crossed his face as he talked. It looked somewhat like glee, but laced with something darker. "Dare I say, a sense of helplessness?"

"I'm sorry, what does that have to do with my injury?" asked Riko, becoming slightly unnerved by the Doctor's words.

"You're a remarkably resilient woman, Riko" said Doctor Frerris, looking her up and down appraisingly. "And yet still so weak. So… dull."

"Who are you!?" she said loudly, now genuinely worried by the man's behavior. He continued unabated.

"You are, to me, the opposite of strength. But the opposite of strength is not weakness, oh no, it's apathy. There are two kinds of people, you see. There are those who either do not, or do not care to obtain power, and those who go out and seize it themselves. It is those with that drive to obtain power that succeed in this world, Mrs. Kasane. 'Strength' and 'weakness' are relative terms. Neither of them really holds any significant meaning. The only thing that separates them is power. There are no strong people or weak people, only the powerful…" he sneered, giving her a pointed look, " and the apathetic. Which do you think you are, Riko?"

For her part, Riko didn't know what to make of the Doctor's speech. It seemed as though he had suddenly become an entirely different person in the span of a few seconds. And that look on his face. It was… unsettling, menacing, as if he knew some terrible secret that she didn't.

The doctor smiled again, only now it was more of a smirk. "Oh my, what am I saying? Of course you must be terribly confused. I'm surprised you don't remember me though. A sharp wit like yours should have recognized me by now."

Riko had no idea what he was going on about, but that look in his eyes… so familiar, and yet she was almost sure she'd never met this man before. "You're insane. I've never met you before in my life."

He glanced down at himself. "Oh come on. Surely you can't be this dense. I mean, the outfit's different, I'll give you that. Perhaps it's more my disposition, though. I _am_ quite a bit stronger than when we last met." He paused on his next word before adding: "taking into account what I said about strength a moment ago, of course. I'm not literally stronger. It's a shame really. I try to get to the gym but it's just so hard, you know?"

"Listen, I think you must have me confused with someone else. I don't know any crazy people." She stopped herself. "Ok, so I don't know more than a few crazy people."

"Don't mistake eccentricity for insanity" he replied, waggling a finger. "It's often those who possess the greatest minds that are perceived as the strangest."

"So, you're some kind of genius, then?"

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far. I'm just a rather strong individual, both physically and mentally."

"Strong?"

"Well yes. Or, that is to say, the real me…" He grinned maliciously and looked down at himself before glancing back at Riko. "_He _wasn't very strong at all."

Something clicked inside Riko's mind. Perhaps it was his tone of voice, or maybe he had finally said the right thing, but she suddenly knew who this man was. The realization hit hard.

Her eyes widened as her pupils shrank to pinpricks and her blood turned to ice in her veins. An overwhelming sense of fear gripped her heart, and her entire body began to shake. As she observed the man in front of her, Riko Kasane began to panic.

Impossibly, she knew without a doubt that she was currently sharing the room with the puppet man. And when the puppet man comes to visit you, the reaper can't be far behind.

"Y-you…" her voice shook slightly as she tried very hard not to hyperventilate. "It's you… Ritsu Namine…"

"I-" he began.

Riko had summoned a vocal blade into her good hand and was halfway across the room before his mouth had finished forming its first syllable. She struck as fast and as hard as she could.

Unfortunately, the only thing she hit was air. Hampered as she was with one arm out of commission and her movements slowed by the morphine in her veins her effort was a noble one, but doomed to failure from the start.

Faster than she could blink, Ritsu was behind her. Grabbing her wrist, he twisted, causing her knife to drop and disappear. Not giving her a chance to recover, he hooked his arm around her elbow and heaved, sending her crashing backwards into the tower of computers monitoring her vitals. The screens flickered and fuzzed out briefly as they teetered precariously back and forth.

Riko grunted in pain as the violent movement tore the IV from her arm, which immediately began to bleed.

Ritsu pounced, pinning her one good arm above her head and slapping a hand over her mouth. He ground his elbow painfully into her left shoulder, causing her to cry out in agony only to be muffled as Ritsu clamped his palm more firmly over her face.

"Yes, it's me. In the flesh. Well… not _my_ flesh exactly, but _someone's_ anyways. Frankly, I'm flattered" he said. "I expected a warm welcome, but that… well, suffice it to say I'm pleasantly surprised."

Doctor Frerris/Ritsu tilted his head slightly. "I am considerably more surprised, though no less pleasantly, to find _you_ here, however. I never expected-and that does not happen often, I assure you- but I never expected that you of all people would actually get _caught_."

He adopted a look of mock-suspicion. "You're not trying to pull one over on me, are you? I mean, surely you realize that you weren't actually supposed to let them catch you? Ok, I'll bite" he said, looking around the room. "Where's the camera? Did Neru put you up to this? That would be just like her."

Suddenly his eyes snapped back onto hers, searching, probing, silently asking, no… demanding that she submit. He spoke more to himself than to her. "But seriously, what was it, hm? Why are you here? Why was I able to catch you? Why aren't you hiding somewhere, laying low with the rest of your rag-tag band of malcontents like I was so _sure_ you would be?"

Riko trembled in his grip, every ounce of her being telling her to run, to escape, even while knowing that attempting to do so would almost certainly only invite more pain. She shook and struggled not to sob as he continued.

"What could it have been? Stubbornness, perhaps?" He poked and prodded lightly at her injury with his elbow as he mused, eliciting small gasps and yelps of pain from his captive audience. "No… you're too smart for that, aren't you? You wouldn't sacrifice yourself to prove a point. One of the fundamental differences between us, I suppose. Maybe it was… anger? It's quite an injustice, after all. You could have stayed and resisted to show that you could not be cowed." He snorted dismissively. "No, still not quite right. You of all people are aware that discretion is the better part of valor. What then…"

All at once his eyes narrowed, fixing her ever more intently in place. "No… not anger… fear." His grin widened imperceptibly as she twitched, her body betraying her. "Yes… you were afraid… but of what? What could scare the woman with no fear? Not fear of pain, surely. There's no method of torture you couldn't mentally prepare yourself for. Why would you be-"

His eyes widened suddenly as realization flashed across his face. "Why indeed?" He breathed, again to himself. "Why else? What does anyone with happiness fear? The loss of that happiness, of course. But what makes you happy?"

He leaned in close, their noses almost touching. Riko could feel his breath playing across the parts of her cheeks not covered by his hand. "What is it that makes you happy, Riko? What's the one thing that you can't stand to lose? What could make you put everything on the line, just to insure that your life holds some joy?"

He leaned in closer, past her face to whisper directly into her ear. "What does any mother fear to lose?" His lips brushed against her. "Her child, of course."

Riko stiffened in Ritsu's grip, her pupils dilating and her pulse thundering. The machines still monitoring her heart rate beeped rapidly.

"Ahh… there it is…" Ritsu hissed in her ear.

A single tear made its way down Riko's face, leaving a glistening trail.

"Really I don't blame you" Ritsu continued. "Who wouldn't love a daughter like yours? I heard what happened when they came for you, you know. It's remarkable. A category six Vocal Event… I don't believe there's ever even been one before now."

He licked his lips, his breath coming in a slight pant, excitement dancing in his eyes.

"Oh… what I wouldn't have given to have been able to be there when it happened…" he sighed happily as he imagined it. "That much raw, unbridled energy… the air would have been practically _alive_ with it." He shuddered slightly. "So much power in one place, from one person… it must have been extraordinary."

He pulled back to look Riko in the eyes. "Oh yes, your daughter is a special one, make no mistake." He paused, savoring the look of fear on Riko's face. "I do believe I'll have to… _investigate_ further."

"NO!" screamed Riko, suddenly starting to struggle violently. She jumped, bringing her legs up to her chest and thrusting outwards as she braced her back against the tower of computers. The monitor flatlined as the remaining sensors were ripped off of her body. Ritsu was shoved backwards, falling into the curtain surrounding them. He clutched at it to remain upright, and though the metal rings it hung from squealed in protest, they held.

The fabric wasn't as lucky as Riko's blade slashed through it, narrowing missing Ritsu's head as he ducked. A large portion of the curtain tore away and fell to the floor as Ritsu jumped forward and to the side.

Riko spun to meet him again, but in her weakened condition it seemed she just wasn't quick enough. Ritsu's shoulder drove hard into her abdomen, the momentum driving the air from her lungs and carrying her backwards to sprawl out across the cot.

Ritsu immediately pinned her down once more, laying on top of her so that their face were practically touching. Riko cried out in pain again, Ritsu's entire upper body weight bearing down on her shoulder.

"Now what way is that to treat the only guest that's come to visit you?" he spat, still panting slightly, though this time from exertion. "What do you hope to accomplish anyways? This… _thing_" he said, indicating the Doctor's body, "isn't even me. You wouldn't want to hurt a poor, innocent man, would you?"

In response, Riko spat in his face. He recoiled slightly but immediately regained his composure. He grabbed her face, wrenching her around to meet his eyes.

"Listen here, you little insect-"

A phone began to ring somewhere. Ritsu narrowed his eyes and used his free hand to fish around in a pocket of the doctor's white coat.

"Hello? Oh, good afternoon milady what can I-?" he paused, listening. "Is that so? That's good to hear, I knew Ruko could- excuse me?"

His brow furrowed. "I see… Though I'm not sure how I can- Yes, but wouldn't it be better if-"

A bit of angry talking from the other end silenced him. "Yes, yes of course… Of course. I'll be there as soon as possible." He ended the call and turned his gaze back to Riko.

"Looks like I'm needed" he said, standing up again. Riko eyed him warily, another blade already present in her hand. "Oh, calm yourself. It seems my superior requires my… services. We'll have to pick this up another time. For now, I'll have to say goodbye. I think I'll keep you here for the time being. No sense in killing what could be useful later."

He straightened the wrinkles in his coat as he turned to leave, but paused for a moment. He glanced back at her over his shoulder. "I'm still not entirely sure what flight of fancy dulled your senses enough that you got yourself grabbed, but you can be sure that I am not nearly so stupid as to let you escape. This is your prison, make no mistake, and depending on my inclination it could very well be your grave."

He turned and strode straight through the large tear in the curtain, though he stopped again just before disappearing out of sight.

"Oh, and Riko?" he said, not turning to look at her. "Don't worry about your daughter. I think I know _exactly_ what to do with her."

And then he was gone.

The silence in the wake of his departure was deafening. The constant droning of the flatlined heart monitor serving only to populate the stillness with useless white noise. After several seconds, another sound could be heard.

A single, strained, sob escaped Riko Kasane's throat, and then she wept.

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

Well, there it is. Another chapter come and gone. This one took longer than I would have liked but I'm pleased with the results. I wanted Ritsu's first real scene to be special, and I think I conveyed that properly. It was fun, creatively stimulating, blah blah blah and all that other stuff here's the next lesson in Lucentian:

LESSON #5: _MI _AND_ TU_, OR ME AND YOU

This is perhaps one of the most important conventions in the Lucentian language, as it holds so much meaning. Speakers of Lucentian have only one way to say I, me, my, mine, or you, your, or yours. Depending on the situation, this is very important.

The words _Mi_ and _Tu_ (inspired by the Spanish words of nearly the same name and usage) are used not only in Lucentian conversations as a way to refer to yourself or another person; they are used to _describe_ you or another person.

When speaking Lucentian, using _Mi _or _Tu_ is akin to referring to the core essence of a person. It's not just a word, but an idea as well. If you say in English: I love cheesburgers, that could mean a couple different things. One, maybe you actually are romantically attracted to cheesburgers, which I recommend immediate counseling for, or maybe what you really mean is: I _really like_ cheeseburgers. This distinction, while not necessary in English, is vital in Lucentian.

For example, if you were to say that you loved cheeseburgers in Lucentian like so:

_Mi amora befogas._

Then it would mean that you REALLY like you some burgers. In an unhealthy and uncivilized way. Once again, any romantic attraction to pattied meat should be brought up with a counselor immediately.

The key here is that you are coupling the word _amora_, or romantic love, with _Mi_, which says that this is a fundamental element of who you are. The correct way to form this sentence would be:

_Mi affa befogas._

The word _affa_, the Lucentian goto for liking or being affable towards something, lets the other party in the conversation know that while you and cheeseburgers are on good terms, it's a purely platonic relationship.

One must be even more careful with the word _Tu_, as this is you referring to someone else. It is therefore very important that you make sure to use proper terms when speaking with someone else. If you are saying that someone likes cheeseburgers, you should be sure to get across that they only _like_ cheeseburgers unless you want to start some nasty rumors.

In this way, it is very easy for a non-native speaker to accidentally insult someone. In English, if you tell your friend that they're fat and stupid, there's a good chance that you're joking and that they know you're joking. In Lucentian, if you tell your friend _Tu'a lastuda_, you'd better be damn certain that they know you're only teasing them, or they're going be very angry with you for saying that obesity and idiocy are principles they model themselves after. Remember, syntax and semantics are important.

That's all for this lesson. On to the music!

"One-Way Route" – This is the song I used for Miku's scene in this chapter. The lyrics capture perfectly what I want to show between her and Gumi, minus the implied lust. Miku is having trouble trusting herself, and placing trust in her friends. This song is just spot on for that.

Link to subbed youtube video: watch?v=UNOQ2fRMAvw

"Declare War on All Voc loid" – Well, this was Ritsu's first big scene, and as such, this is the song I used to inspire his character. He's obsessed with power, and would like nothing more than to have others to control.

Link to youtube video: watch?v=ROdoGff6ovQ&list=PL247310A1981A5A9E

That's it for this chapter! As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

Well, I'm off to start on chapter 18. It's gonna be a doozy so stay tuned for that. For now though, this is AnarchySong signing off!


	18. Stand Up! When it Rains it Pours!

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…but the story is totally mine.

**********************************Chapter 18**********************************

It was raining again.

Well, maybe not so much raining _again_. It was _still_ raining. It had _been_ raining since the day after they'd arrived. The clouds rolled in as the sun was setting, the air currents getting caught up on the mountains next to the city, and by nightfall a gentle shower made the streetlights and neon glint off the wet pavement.

Miku had decided that she didn't like the way it rained in Clonderwell.

It wasn't really the fact that it _was_ raining. Miku had always appreciated a good downpour now and again. It kept the green things green and gave everything a fresh feeling. No, it was rather _how_ it rained that bothered her.

Something about the climate prevented the rain from falling normally, or some nonsense. Luka had attempted to explain the phenomenon to her. It was something to do with the clouds being lighter, but packed closer together. That had lasted all of five seconds before Miku had lost interest.

The end result was that the rain didn't fall like one would expect, instead coming down as a steady, uninterrupted, misty drizzle that continuously soaked everything and everyone.

Then it hadn't stopped for several days. That amount of time spent living with the twins would have been interesting on its own, but not unpleasant. The rain had, unfortunately, solved that problem.

Rin hadn't been lying about the walls in their makeshift home. The concrete started to ooze a strange, sticky sludge shortly after the rain began. It didn't smell, but that was only a small comfort. The stuff got everywhere, covering nearly every vertical surface in tiny, moss-green rivulets that flowed like molasses. Len theorized that it was a result of industrial chemicals being washed down through cracks in the aged cement, a thought which, even if true, made the event no less disgusting.

As bad as the sludge was, though, it still wasn't what made Miku hate the rain. There was one thing about it that made it infinitely worse, at least for her.

Figuring out the time of day, a feat already complicated by their being underground, was made virtually impossible as the cloud cover turned the sunlight to a dull, lifeless grey. This problem was only made worse by the fact that absolutely no one inhabiting the subterranean hideout seemed to possess a watch (which was hard to believe considering Len seemed to have at least two of literally everything else stored in those pockets of his).

The lack of a suitable gauge for her day had led to the illusion of time moving far slower than it normally would. It therefore made perfect sense that after the better part of a week spent in these conditions Miku was feeling a tad irritable, as poorly equipped as she was to deal with extreme boredom.

It felt very strange to her to not be training every day as well. After so many months of maintaining a rigorous schedule of developing both her body and her vocal powers, the lack of a daily dose of either improving or getting her ass kicked by her mentor left her feeling slightly unfulfilled.

Not that she hadn't asked Luka if they could still do some training. She had. Immediately. The fact that her teacher had refused she could attribute only to a grievous lapse in judgment. So what if their methods of training could be a little… extreme at times? And so what if they were currently residing amongst a bunch of children and adolescents? Hadn't anyone else heard the phrase: "A little childhood trauma builds character?"

"Never mind that these children have experienced enough trauma to last a lifetime already" Luka had said. Miku had summarily proceeded to ignore her.

And so, despite her protestations, no training had happened. What had happened instead was a series of days during which Miku occupied her time in increasingly pointless and unproductive ways. She spent several hours walking the perimeter of the hideout a few dozen times in a row. She counted cracks in the concrete in a progressively wider radius until her eyes would no longer focus properly. An entire day disappeared as she made the mistake of asking Luka to explain how Lucentian worked (something she vowed never to do again). All in all, it wasn't the most fruitful four days she could recall.

So much free time had given her thoughts ample time to wander (Luka had warned her against letting that happen too often, as she tended to hurt herself when left to her own devices). It was unsurprising that there was one place they continually wandered to.

Gumi. That stupid, naïve, brilliant girl. Of course her thoughts kept coming back to the one thing that she couldn't help but think about. It was practically torture, sitting around while her best friend could possibly be imprisoned, or worse.

If only Miku had gone to get her sooner, perhaps none of this would have- but no. She couldn't keep telling herself that. If she did, it would kill her. All the things that could have been didn't matter a bit in the face of the one thing that actually happened.

Gumi was missing. That was the reality, and that was what Miku had to fix. If that meant getting into the DVA, that's what she would do, even if she had to wait to do it. Gumi was worth that much.

And so wait she had. For the most boring and anticipatory four days of her life, she had waited. Now, after said four days of absolutely nothing noteworthy or interesting, Miku again found herself doing the one thing she hated most: waiting.

Rin, Len, Luka, and herself were currently hiding in a small alcove less than one block away from the DVA. Their current position afforded them a clear view of both the building itself, and the street in front of it.

Miku looked up at the sky. A drop of water landed on her nose. Yep, still raining.

It was early morning on a Monday. Miku again couldn't pinpoint the time exactly, but the twins had assured her that it was very nearly time to put their plan into motion. Even so, she was starting to get antsy. They had been sitting there for the better part of an hour… probably. Fortunately, Rin chose that moment to elbow her painfully in the ribs.

"Ouch! Dammit what was that for?"

"Shh…" she said, pointing towards the DVA. A delivery truck sat parked near the curb in front. "Look lively, Piggy. Our 'friend' just pulled up."

Sure enough, a large, blocky vehicle with the motto: "Paper Supply Co. ULTD." emblazoned on the side was pulled up alongside the curb in front of the building. A door slid open as a thin, mousy, nervous-looking man in a company uniform got out, bearing a clipboard. He glanced all around him constantly, as if checking for some unseen stalker or follower. His face bore a noticeably patchy five-o-clock shadow that lent him a look of flightiness, as if the slightest provocation would send him running. He began to unload a stack of boxes onto a handcart as they watched.

"That's him?" Miku asked, eying the man with suspicion. "He doesn't look very… hrm… uh…"

"_Reliable_, is the word you're looking for, I think" supplied Luka, looking at him with the same expression of incredulity.

The twins only smiled. "That's what makes him perfect for this" said Len cryptically, rubbing his hands together. He glanced at his sister. "Ready?"

"To torment _him?_" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Her eyes then narrowed mischievously. "Always."

Both twins glanced back at Miku and Luka, watching the interaction with confused looks. "Sit tight, we'll be back before you can say 'blackmail'" said Rin. The two of them scurried out from the alcove, keeping low to the ground and hiding behind parked cars to stay hidden. As the man from the truck wheeled his boxes into the front door of the DVA, the twins quietly opened the back doors of the delivery truck and slipped inside.

"Blackmail?" Miku looked at her mentor. "What exactly do you think they're gonna do to him?"

Luka only shrugged in response.

~V~

Fred Grisham sighed deeply as he slowly wheeled his hand cart back towards the truck to continue his delivery route.

It wasn't a terrible job, delivering paper products to various offices and businesses. In fact, he should probably have been grateful for it, considering he was lucky to have a job at all. He was lucky to be out of jail, really. He was lucky that his parole program had a job placement process. He was lucky in a lot of ways.

But he was _bored_. It was practically criminal in and of itself for a man to have to live such a monotonous and banal lifestyle. The high risk, exciting life of a career criminal was just so… appealing. Sure, it was dangerous, it was illegal, but it was _fun_.

The illicit thrill he got from embezzling funds, the supreme adrenaline rush experienced when he committed a theft, it was all so intoxicating! So risqué! There was simply nothing that could compare!

But he couldn't. It had nearly ruined his life forever when all the charges were totaled up and presented in court. Embezzlement and theft were only the beginning. Gambling rings, grand theft auto, tax evasion, you name the petty crime, Fred Grisham had committed it.

He'd had to rein himself in or risk spending the rest of his life in prison, so rein it in he had. He'd walked the straight and narrow and he'd followed all the rules like a good little productive member of society. He had dotted the I's and crossed the t's on his reformation and he hadn't slipped up once. Not one time!

… Ok, maybe once.

But it was okay! He'd been careful! He'd been smart about it. It was just a little, just to sate his appetite, if only for a little while. No one even knew he had done it!

…Right?

"Hey there, Freddy!" said voice a voice as he opened the back door to his delivery truck. Suddenly two pairs of hands shot out of the interior and yanked him inside, the doors quickly slamming shut behind him.

A flashlight shone brightly in his face, blinding him momentarily. When the stars and flashes cleared from his vision…

"Oh crap, not youse two again!" he exclaimed in a thick Clonderwellian accent. "I thought I was done with you! I behaved myself, just like I said I would, I promise! Scout's honor!"

"Oh, I'm _sure_" said Rin with a roll of her eyes. "I bet you've just been the best little boyscout."

"We, however, have not" said Len, leaning in and placing a hand on the metal near the man's head. "At least not according to the feds. We don't plan to start any time soon, either." He shared a devilish glance with his sister. "That's actually why we've come to see you."

"See, we need a little favor, and you're just the man for the job" said Rin, resting her palm opposite her brother's. "There's something we want inside that building you just delivered to, and we need an access card to get it. I'll give ya' three guesses to figure out whose we want to use, and the first two don't count."

Fred's eyes widened slowly in realization. "You're gonna break inta' the DVA? Are youse two crazy? 'Dere's nationally sensitive infa'mation in 'dere! You'd be commitin' treason! I know I ain't exactly one ta' talk about doin' the right thing, but 'dere's illegal and 'den 'dere's _illegal_, know what I mean?"

"Freddy, Freddy, Freddy… can I call ya' Freddy? 'Course I can" said Len, patting the man's shoulder. "Let's not mince words about the definition of 'illegal.' I mean, littering is illegal. Shoplifting is illegal. _Mail fraud_ is illegal." He said the last one with particular emphasis and a slight squeeze of Fred's shoulder.

Mr. Grisham's face paled considerably. "No… 'dere's no way" he said disbelievingly. "I didn't tell nobody 'bout 'dat! How'd _you_ find out?" He held his hands up in front of him in a placating gesture. "Listen… guys… I don't want no trouble. It was just a few welfare checks, nothin' major. It didn't hurt nobody. I don't think 'dey even noticed. I just-"

Rin interrupted him. "Calm down paper boy. We're not here to turn ya' in."

"You… you ain't?"

"No" said Len. "At least not if you give us what we want."

Fred narrowed his eyes. "And you want my passcard…"

"All you need to do is… forget your card here at the DVA, and we'll forget about anything to do with any mail fraud" said Rin, with a sickly sweet smile. "Like it never even happened."

"Just like that?" he asked skeptically.

"Just like that" Len repeated, holding out his hand. "So what, do we have a deal?"

The delivery man eyed the twins warily for a few seconds, his gaze switching nervously from one to the other. He then reached into the breast pocket of his shirt and slowly pulled out a card with his picture and the words "FRED GRISHAM – DRIVER" printed on the front, along with a series of numbers and letters. Len snatched it up immediately.

"I knew you'd make the right choice" he said, smiling.

"Youse two are somethin' else, ya' know 'dat?" said Fred as he handed the card over. "'You're demons, dat's what ya' are. Demons in kid bodies."

"The devil's favorites" said Rin as she pushed open the truck's loading doors and hopped down to the street outside.

"Always a pleasure doing business with you mister Grisham!" said Len, jumping down to join his sister.

"Wait!" said Fred suddenly. The twins looked back at him. "How do I know ya' won't just rat me out anyways?"

Rin and Len paused momentarily, mulling over the question. They shared a sly glance between the two of them, and then slowly broke out into matching impish grins.

"Well…" said Len.

"I guess…" said Rin.

They turned back to Fred and winked in unison. "You don't!" they shouted as the door swung shut to the sound of childish laughter.

In the darkness of his now relatively silent delivery vehicle, Fred Grisham sighed heavily. "Demons. Demons the both of 'em. Kids 'dese days I swear."

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Gumi Megpoid was sore. Really sore. In fact she was the sorest she had ever been, or had thought it possible to be for that matter.

As it turned out, she had been far less prepared than she had hoped for the long journey from Ann and Al's home in the small town of Harmony to where she and Miki were currently camped out on the outskirts of Shion air force base. This was due in equal parts to both the fact that she was woefully out of shape for such an excursion, and the necessity of leaving her scooter behind. Though the contraption would have made the trip much easier, it also made it far too easy for the military to identify who she was. Add in that Miki's clothing choices made them stick out like a sore thumb anyways, and the scooter simply couldn't be brought along.

As a result, Gumi's legs had been subjected to several days of walking covering a distance which- despite the assurances of her rational mind to the contrary- she felt must have been somewhere close to the total circumference of the earth. Her legs felt as though they were made of lead, and there were several painful blisters throbbing angrily on the soles of her feet.

Her attitude had also suffered considerably. Three straight days of walking can have that effect. Never before (and never again, if she had her way) had she ever been so tired. As such, her patience was at an all-time low. Considering the mood her traveling partner was in, this was not a good thing.

For her part, Miki had been an unshakeable bastion of cheer the entire way. Granted, it was in her usual way of being insufferably random and unpredictable, but at least she was trying.

Then again, maybe she wasn't trying at all. Somehow Gumi got the feeling that for Miki the past three days had been nothing but a casual stroll. She considered for a moment the possibility that that may have indeed been the case. The explosive defender of justice showed absolutely no outward signs of physical exhaustion, and it was irksome to Gumi that she couldn't tell whether or not it was because she actually wasn't tired, or if she was just better at hiding it than herself.

Either way it hardly mattered. The point was that Miki was twice as rambunctious as usual, and Gumi was having none of it.

"I say we just go for it" said Miki, peeking out from behind the bush concealing the two of them. "If we both rush them I know we could take them out without issue."

Gumi rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I'm sure that _you_ would have no trouble with that. Unfortunately, I have next to no practical experience where combat is concerned, and while I'm confident in your abilities even your considerable talents may be a tad underwhelming against an _entire air force base_!"

"Pfft" Miki blew out a puff of air. "Yeah, maybe if I was, like, asleep or something. Here's how it works kid. I'm a superhero. Superheroes always win. Therefore, by extension, I win. Bam." She poked Gumi in the forehead. "I just blew your mind."

Gumi flailed her arms around in front of her. "Gah! Stop that! This is serious! We need to come up with an _actual_ plan."

"As I recall it was you who supposedly had an _actual_ plan all figured out, O' great one" said Miki. "So what _is_ the plan, hm?"

"I… I'm working on it, okay?" said Gumi, peeking her head over the top of the bush. "It's a little overwhelming. I'm a thinker by nature. All this action has me flustered."

"What action? We haven't even blown anything up yet" said Miki.

"Yeah, and I'd like to keep it that way if possible" Gumi replied. "Now shut up for a second and let me think."

There were several obvious problems that presented themselves immediately to Gumi's discerning eye. The first was that the entire complex was surrounded by a ten-foot high cyclone fence topped with razor wire. They could go through it if need be, but it would be better to avoid any possibility of alerting the personnel to their presence.

The second problem was their timing. Due to Gumi's lack of aptitude in endurance walking, they had lost a considerable amount of time off of Miki's original projected schedule. Instead of arriving as night fell on Sunday evening, they had instead been forced to walk all the way through said night and most of the following morning, and had shown up almost at noon on Monday. They would now have to wait until dusk before they could attempt anything, or their chances of being caught would be exponentially higher.

She scanned along the length of the fence to a gated entrance several hundred feet down from their position. A single concrete guard station stood beside a rising gate blocking a road. Gumi's head filled with possible scenarios of getting past. They could maybe hide in a vehicle of some sort, or perhaps they could cause a distraction for the guard. If they were fast enough, maybe-

"Yeah this is taking too long. Stand back" said Miki suddenly, pushing Gumi roughly to the side. Standing up fully out of the bush, her hand flashed brightly, a shining star appearing in her grasp.

"What are you doing!?" Gumi hissed, trying in vain to grab at the hand holding the star. "We have to be quiet! They'll see us! Get down before-"

Miki threw the star at the gate.

Gumi watched helplessly as the projectile seemed to fly in slow motion. She stretched out a hand, as if wishing hard enough on this particular star might bring it back.

The star, however, had other plans and stayed true to Miki's aim, impacting directly in the center of the gate. The entire structure exploded in a brilliant display of vocal power, throwing shrapnel in every direction. A very confused guard came running out of the little concrete booth, shouting frantically into a handheld radio.

"Why!?" yelled Gumi, no longer bothering to hide herself. She stared at the smoking wreckage of the gate in disbelief. "Just… why!?"

Miki said nothing, instead summoning another, considerably smaller star into her hand. This one she pivoted and threw at the section of fence nearest them. A more controlled explosion blew a sizeable hole in the chain link.

"Come on" said Miki, grabbing Gumi's wrist. She ran towards the hole she had created, trailing the teen behind her.

They passed through without incident. Gumi fell to the ground, utterly confused as to how one person could have such a destructive streak. Miki's actions hadn't been simply ill-advised, they'd been downright stupid!

"What the heck was that!?" she yelled, rounding on the would-be superheroine. "We're bound to have every soldier on base all over us now! Why couldn't we just- Wait, what are you doing?"

Miki was taking careful aim with a handful of explosives. Before Gumi could even attempt to muster some sort of argument she had already launched them high into the air. They flew in a long arc, finally raining down a hail of explosions on and near the gate she had previously blown up.

"Stop doing that!" Gumi practically begged. "They're going to catch us!"

"Meh, I think they have bigger things to worry about" said Miki, crossing her arms with a slight smirk. "Look."

Gumi turned to look. Miki's actions had caused quite a stir. More men were already arriving in trucks and on foot, all of them talking quickly and shouting to one another. However, Miki had a point. Not a single one was sparing the two of them so much as a glance, far too distracted by the destruction at and around the gate to notice two random women several hundred feet away.

"Ok… so maybe they won't catch us right away…" said Gumi slowly, not daring to believe their good fortune. "But that doesn't mean we're out of trouble! We need to find somewhere to hide! Surely they'll be putting this place on some kind of heightened security after that!"

"For once we agree on something" said Miki. "I'll just change into my secret identity. They'll never expect a thing!"

Gumi just stared at her. "Miki… isn't 'Shooting Star' meant to be your secret identity already?"

Miki adopted a ponderous expression. "Huh… so it is…" She looked down at her outlandish clothes covered in star motifs. "Done!"

Gumi tried very hard to prevent her eye from twitching. She failed. She then shook her head vigorously to clear it.

"You know what? I don't even care anymore. Let's just find somewhere to hide until tonight. I think I need to sleep. My vision is starting to blur."

"That's just my ambient awesomeness affecting you" said Miki. "Don't worry, it happens to the best of them."

"Oh there's something about you affecting me alright" Gumi mumbled, grinding her teeth. "Though I'm pretty certain it's not 'awesomeness'."

But Miki was already gone, walking towards an inconspicuous-looking copse of trees that would most likely shield them from view. Gumi let out a defeated sigh. There were no brakes on the Miki-train it seemed. Not even at the stations. She stomped after the one-track wonder, hoping against hope that the night would make at least a little more sense than the day so far.

~V~

As she walked away, she failed to notice the pair of eyes watching her quietly from behind a nearby building. The man they were attached to pulled back out of sight and smiled.

"Well well…" he said, chuckling slightly, "quite the small world we live in."

Then straightening his white coat, and making sure that his blue hair was still immaculately styled, Kaito Shion walked away. There were a few things that needed attending to.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Lacking any proper form of clock, Miku looked up at the sky for the tenth time in as many minutes. She sighed deeply as she realized, again, that the cloud cover blocked out the sun entirely. It wouldn't have mattered. Had she been able to see it she would have noted that the celestial body had not moved any discernible distance from the last nine times she'd looked.

Not that it made much of a difference. Miku's ability to tell time via the sun was only marginally more well-developed than her ability to sit still for long periods of time. She again lamented the fact that the latter of those things was so incredibly difficult for her.

And it _was _difficult, sitting there. Aside from the brief excitement of acquiring one of the two passcards they needed that morning, the day had been just as boring and uneventful as the previous four.

It was starting to wear on her, all of this waiting. The twins had once again gone off to get in position for the next phase of their plan. They would need the ID card of the DVA supervisor if they hoped to gain entrance to his office without alerting everyone to their presence, and in order to get it, Rin and Len were going to steal it.

She couldn't fathom how they would do it. Sneakiness and distractions had never been her strong suit, preferring to go the route of all out overwhelming force over the more subtle approach.

She sighed. However they were going to go about it, she was really hoping they'd hurry the hell up and just get it done already. She didn't know how much more of this down time she would be able to take.

More importantly, she was worried about how much more of her down time Gumi would be able to take. Every second she sat there waiting was another second that her best friend could be suffering.

…Or not. There was another possibility, after all. She had no way of knowing Gumi's condition. Chances were high that she was in perfect health and safety, still…

In a world where Vocaloids were considered criminals? Miku didn't very much like the idea of taking chances.

As her thoughts wandered (dangerous, she reminded herself) a fingertip idly traced the outline of the walkie through the thin fabric of her pocket. She refused to have the thing anywhere but on her person at all times. If Gumi called she would be there to answer, period.

Slowly she withdrew the device and held it up in front of her. It was a curious-looking thing. Well, no, it _looked_ like a piece of crap. With its exposed wires and circuits, tiny lights that blinked intermittently, and the liberal amount of duct tape that was obviously holding it together, the only curious thing about it was the fact that it somehow succeeded in its purpose of allowing communication between two people.

But no matter how strange it looked or how curiously it worked, the important thing was that the wonderful contraption had for months been her only lifeline to the closest thing she had ever had to a home, and if home is where the heart is then her heart was with Gumi.

Right then her heart was just on the verge of breaking.

"We're going to find her, Miku." Luka's voice cut through the gray air, her tone soft. Her mentor sat across from her, watching her examine the walkie.

Miku said nothing. Luka's words didn't help. If anything they only made it worse by reminding her of the heavy price of failure.

"You know that, don't you?"

All she knew right then was that she preferred silence to Luka trying to make her feel better. Despite her teacher's obvious good intentions, the overly altruistic tendencies of Lucentian culture sometimes caused Luka's actions to come across as more annoying than empathetic, a fact not lost on Miku's already sour mood.

"You can't ignore me forever."

Sure she could. Just watch her. She'd be a freaking Ignorasaurus Rex if it suited her. Which it did at the moment thank you very much.

"Really, Miku. Come on, you've been nothing but brooding and depressed for days now. Chin up. It could be worse."

Could be worse, huh? Not likely. The only way that her pink-haired windbag of a teacher could make this worse would be if she-

"Alright, unless you want to hear a detailed history of oral hygiene products and their impact on the stock values of sweets manufacturers you'll turn around and talk to me this instant."

…Damn. The woman made a convincing argument.

"Why are you doing this?" Miku mumbled, still not looking at her mentor. "All I want is to sit here peacefully for a while and then go rescue my friend. With all that's been going on lately, I think I'm entitled."

Luka rolled her eyes. "It's not about entitlement, Miku. Look at yourself. When was the last time you sat _anywhere_ peacefully? You were more energetic than this when you were unconscious!"

_At least when I was unconscious I didn't have to listen to you _she thought to herself. Miku 'hmphed' and averted her eyes even more. "So what if I want to be quiet? I can be different sometimes."

"Because that's not who you are" said Luka. "You're loud and proud. And I know that sitting around anywhere is like torture for you."

"You don't know who I am. You barely know me at all" said Miku stubbornly, finally shooting Luka an annoyed glare. She was aware that she was sounding like a hormonal teenager, but wasn't inclined to care at the moment.

Luka met her glare with her own cool gaze. "I may not know you from Adam, but in the few months since we met, I think I've learned a lot about you."

"Yeah, well, nobody asked you" said Miku, a little more harshly than she intended. She did not, however, attempt to apologize. Luka was poking the bees nest. It wasn't Miku's fault if she got stung.

Luka didn't even seem fazed. She stared back as calmly as ever. "You don't have to ask me" she said, sounding concerned. "I can tell. You're worried about Gumi."

"I don't worry. That's Gumi's job…" said Miku, crossing her arms and facing away.

"Miku, it's ok to feel afraid-"

"I'm not scared, alright!?" she snapped angrily, turning a venomous gaze on Luka. "And you telling me not to be isn't going to help anything! Just leave me alone!"

Luka was at a loss. She held up a hand towards Miku, trying to appease her. "Miku, we're going to find her, I promise-"

"How can you promise me that!? You never found Haku, did you?!"

A shadow passed over Luka's face and she withdrew her hand. Silence descended on the two of them like a death shroud, making the weight of the grey sky suddenly feel like tons.

Miku immediately regretted her words. She had crossed a line, bringing up Luka's past in anger. She looked at her mentor, suddenly still and solemn. She was hurt, that much was clear. Miku stretched her own hand out.

"H-hey… listen… I'm sorry… that was-" she began.

"No" said Luka. And for a moment, Miku feared that she had really screwed up. "No… don't say anything…"

Luka looked up again. Her expression was hard. When she spoke, her voice carried the slightest waver to it. "Y-you're right… I couldn't find her. And I still regret that… but you don't have to."

Her expression softened slightly, and she locked eyes with her student. "If anything, I should be more sympathetic to what you're going through. After all, I know what it's like…"

Miku didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything at all. Luka wasn't finished.

"But you have to understand something. You're so much closer to finding Gumi than I ever was to finding Haku. Your strength of character is so much better than mine was. That's why I can't let you give up, or even talk about giving up."

She leaned forward and grasped Miku's hands tightly. The look in her eyes spoke volumes.

"Because I won't let you turn into me."

Miku attempted to speak, but couldn't find any appropriate words. Luka's earnest gaze stared straight into her. Every single word she'd said had been from the heart. Miku looked back and met that gaze with a tentative one of her own. Slowly, she slipped the walkie back into her pocket. There was no point in reminding herself of the stakes anymore, she was pretty sure they both understood perfectly.

She averted her eyes slightly and scratched the side of her head absently. "Yeah… well… ok, maybe I'm just, you know, like, a _tiny_ bit worried."

Instead of a response, Luka pulled her forward by the arms into a vicegrip-like hug. Alright, about those certain times where Lucentian people could be annoying? Miku waited two seconds to make sure the hug was a full-on 'crush you with love' deal. _One… Two… _Yeah, this was one of those times.

But still… it was nice. She slowly returned the embrace, threading her arms around her teacher's back.

"We _will_ find her, Miku. That's a promise."

"I know" she said, smiling gently.

A few seconds passed.

"Hey, uh… not to ruin the moment or anything… but could we, you know… stop?"

"Could we stop what?" asked Luka, not deciphering Miku's meaning.

"Just with the… you know…" said Miku, trying unsuccessfully to extricate herself.

"With the what? Miku, you aren't making any sense."

"Let me go! I can hardly breathe, ok!?" she finally yelled, thrashing about wildly.

"Oh!" Luka released her sheepishly. "Sorry, old habits."

"Yeah, don't worry about it" said Miku, straightening her clothes back into place. A faint blush tinted her cheeks. "It's fine just… the hugging is a little much sometimes. Just promise me you won't do that in front of Rin. She'd never let it drop."

Luka regarded her for a few moments. "You do know I'm only trying to help, don't you? I really do believe that if anyone has a chance of finding Gumi it's you." She smiled gently. "Besides, you have one big advantage that I never did."

"Yeah, what's that?"

Luka's smile widened. "You have friends."

Though Luka smiled as she said it, Miku could tell that the statement hid a lot of personal pain. There was something that Luka had said months ago, just after they'd first met...

_legions of fans, but not a single friend…_

It had stuck with her, and she still wasn't even sure what it meant. She considered asking, but thought better of it. Best not to ruin the moment.

"That's right" she said instead, flashing a cocksure grin. "I've got you. And you've got me too." She pondered that a moment. "Though, if it's just you and me, that's not really much of a social circle. More of a partnership, when you think about it."

Luka pretended to wonder at that briefly, but her smile never left her. "Hmm… I don't know… you say that but…"

At that moment a voice came shouting at them from down the street accompanying a white bow and a head of blond hair.

"Yo! Pinky! Piggy! We got it!"

Luka looked at Miku and quirked an eyebrow. "Maybe you're a little more popular than you think."

Miku smiled sheepishly. Of course it was more than just the two of them. Despite her occasional bratty behavior, Rin was a good kid, and one that Miku had to admit she liked in spite of herself. Len, with his more reserved attitude and helpful demeanor, had earned a spot in her heart as well. And though she wasn't there with them, Miku still considered Gumi among those numbers as well.

Luka winked at her. A happy, subtle thing that told Miku she was in good company. Said company arrived in their midst seconds later, and Luka was immediately put on edge.

"We… got it…" said Len as the pair jogged up to them. Both were, Miku noted, strangely out of breath.

"That's good…" said Luka, eyeing them with suspicion. Something in the way they kept shooting each other nervous glances caused a nagging feeling of unease to bubble up in the pit of her stomach. "No… problems then?" she asked, attempting to sound nonchalant.

"Nope! Piece of cake!" said Rin, far too loudly and far more quickly than the situation warranted. "No problems at all!" Len rolled his eyes. Rin elbowed him in the gut.

"Y-yeah…" Len wheezed in agreement. "Piece of cake."

"Mhmm…" Luka mused lightly, clasping her arms behind her back and adopting a militaristic stance. The twins wilted slightly under her gaze. "No… unforeseen circumstances?" She walked a slow circle around Rin's back, her glare boring a hole in the back of the girl's head.

"Uhh… no… what would make you think that?" Rin's eyes darted back and forth and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other and back nervously as Luka circled like a hawk.

"Oh, I don't know…" said Luka as she wound herself sinuously back around to look the girl in the eyes. "It's just that you two are acting a bit…" she leaned in close, "suspicious."

"What? Suspicious? Us?" said Rin, wearing a painful-looking rictus grin. Her voice had a slight note of hysteria to it. "We're not… hehe…" she chuckled nervously. "We're not suspicious, right Miku?" she looked hopefully at the blue-haired girl.

"You're a little suspicious" said Miku, arching an eyebrow at the fact that Rin had neglected to call her 'Piggy' for once.

"Suspicious? Really?" asked Rin, pleading with her eyes.

"Really" confirmed Miku.

"Really?"

"_Really…_"

"Well that's just silly. We're not suspicious at all. Isn't that right Len?" Len said nothing, shrinking away from Luka's piercing gaze and attempting to force himself to occupy the smallest space he possibly could.

"…Len?"

Luka's eyes promised death.

"He caught us!" Len suddenly blurted out. He immediately clapped his hands over his mouth, a look of horror on his face.

"Len!" shouted Rin.

"I'm sorry!" he shouted back. "I cracked under the pressure!"

"He WHAT!?" yelled Luka and Miku in unison; adding their voices to the impromptu shouting match and drawing several curious glances from passerby. Luka cast a sideways glance at the street and ushered the group further back into the alcove. The twins weren't the only thing looking suspicious just then.

"He _what_?" she asked again at a more respectable volume once they were away from any possible prying eyes.

"He…" Rin huffed, crossing her arms. "He….Caught me…" She barely mumbled the words.

"I'm sorry, what was that? You trailed off there at the end" said Luka, giving Rin a pointed glare.

"He… grrr…..caaaaaaught meee… " Rin forced through gritted teeth, avoiding Luka's gaze like the plague.

The pink-haired women followed her eyes, making sure Rin could still see her. "One more time. Didn't quite catch the last bit."

There was an audible grinding noise as Rin ground her jaws together in agitation.

"He caught me, ok!? Wasn't my fault though…" she grumbled, re-crossing her arms.

"It totally was" murmured Len.

"You aren't helping!" shouted Rin, rounding on her bother.

"So let me get this straight" said Luka, looking every bit like an angry parent admonishing a child. "You two, both illegal Vocaloids, got caught _stealing _from the _director of the DVA_, the one man that could ruin our lives more thoroughly than anyone else in this city. Is that right?"

Len averted his eyes sheepishly as Rin bit her bottom lip nearly hard enough to draw blood, clearly wracking her brain for a turn of phrase that would answer Luka's question while simultaneously not requiring her to admit that what she said was the truth. Coming up with nothing, she huffed and settled for a simple, almost inaudible, and obviously forced:

"…Yes."

Luka said something in Lucentian that sounded extremely violent and made Miku suspect that whatever it was would have been highly inappropriate had Yuki been there to hear it.

"Geez…" said Rin. "I don't know what you're so worked up about, we handled it, alright?"

"Oh, you _handled_ it!" shouted Luka, her eyes full of fire. "Great! I guess that means that everything is ok then- What the hell do you mean you handled it!?"

"Look, everything was fine, I swiped his wallet, grabbed his card, and I almost had the thing put back in the guy's pants before he even knew I was there. Len had him distracted with some sort of crocodile tears routine or whatever and it would have been _fine_" here she turned to her brother, poking him in the shoulder, "if _someone_ hadn't kept looking at me while I was trying to do my thing!"

"What, you're saying it was my fault?" he asked incredulously. "You totally poked him in the ass when you put the wallet back!"

"I did not!"

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

"ENOUGH!" shouted Luka, interjecting herself between the squabbling siblings. "What did you do then?"

The twins looked at one another again, then back to Luka.

"We mugged him" said Len simply.

A resounding crack split the air as Luka's fist embedded itself in the concrete wall of the alcove with a burst of vocal power. The muscles in her face twitched slightly as she dragged her free hand down over her eyes.

"I have… no words…" she said quietly, massaging her temples. "What on earth could have possessed you two to do something so stupid? There's no way we can do this now!"

"I wouldn't say that" Len piped up hesitantly. "We're still OK… probably."

"In what way could this possibly be OK!?" yelled Luka, grabbing Len by the shoulders. "We are the exact opposite of OK right now! If OK was a car, we would have driven it off a cliff!"

"Cool your jets Pinkenstein" said Rin, with a roll of her aquamarine eyes. "When I said we handled it, I meant it. You don't have to worry about Mr. Director coming after us. Er… at least not right away."

"And why, pray tell, is that?" asked Luka.

"We took his card, yeah. But he doesn't know that's what we were after. We also took his wallet, his phone, his keys…"

"His shoes…" added Len, holding up an expensive-looking pair of sleek black Oxfords.

Rin and Luka turned to look at him, momentarily distracted from their back and forth by the sheer oddity of Len's statement. Both of their faces asked the same question: "Why?"

"Hey, they were nice shoes" he said defensively. "We were already robbing the guy, why not?"

"Whatever, I'm sure they'll go great with the suit you don't have" said Rin, steering the conversation back on track. "The point is we knocked him out, took his stuff, and left him in an alley. I don't think his first thought when he wakes up is gonna be to call the office." She shrugged. "Not to mention the time he's gonna have explaining to the cops how a pair of freakishly strong teenagers kicked his butt and stole all his cash."

"I… you two…" Luka sputtered, utterly at a loss for words.

"You knocked him out and left him in an alley?" asked Miku, wearing an impressed smirk. "Wow, points for the brutality factor. How much was he carrying?"

"Hands off, Piggy, I saw it first" said Rin, waving the wallet in front of her possessively.

"Hey, it was just a question" Miku retorted. "Come on, tell me. Was the guy loaded or what?"

Luka stared in disbelief. She couldn't fathom how any of it was possible. They were now in a veritable worst-case scenario and here these two girls were squabbling over the amount of money in a billfold, and one that one of them had stolen off the unconscious body of a fully grown man, no less.

_Just like Haku and I once upon a time_ said a voice inside her head. She frowned. _That_ was the last thing she needed to be thinking about at now of all times. _Put it behind you, Luka _she told herself firmly. _Miku isn't her._

Maybe not, but damn it if she didn't have a nearly identical personality. Luka cursed silently to herself. This entire fiasco was becoming far too dangerous to go through with now that the twins had screwed up the way they had, still…

_Miku isn't her…_

No, she wasn't, but she was still going to break into that building with or without Luka's help, and the Vocaloid master knew it.

_Uva e Oniigasen napermo? _She asked herself quietly. It sounded like a prayer. She stood up straighter.

"Alright! That's enough!" she declared. Miku and Rin paused in their conversation to look at her strangely.

"Enough what? Money?" Miku asked incredulously. "The guy only had twelve bucks on him. That's chump change!"

"Not what I meant!" said Luka, marveling at how quickly her apprentice could derail practically any point she attempted to make. "You two need to quiet down and listen up, because I'm only going to say this once."

She drew herself up, taking a deep breath to compose herself.

"You!" she pointed at Rin and Len. "You two have singlehandedly managed to put us in even more danger than we previously were. Even aside from the fact that we are all already considered illegal by any type of authority, we now have to contend with the possibility that a prominent person in a position of power could cause trouble for us. Let it be known that I think this entire scheme is a fool's errand and that it will probably either get us all killed or captured."

She breathed out slowly, keeping her tone even.

"That said, I will agree to go along with it only because _she_" Luka pointed now at Miku, "will attempt to get inside whether I am on board or not. But you listen here, and listen well…"

She fixed all three of the teens with an icy glare. "We are going to go through with it. I will help you in any capacity that I can, but at the first- and I do mean the ab-sol-ute _first_- sign of something going wrong, I am punching a hole through the nearest wall and we are getting out of there as fast as possible, is that clear?"

The three of them bobbed their heads rapidly in response, if for different reasons. Rin and Len did so out of fear that if they failed to agree, Luka would perform some unspeakable act on their persons.

It stood to Miku's credit that she nodded just as feverishly as the twins, though not out of fear, but excitement. Finally the waiting was over. She could finally actually do something physical and quantifiably useful to rescue Gumi rather than just stand around feeling hopeless.

Luka shared neither Miku's excitation nor the twins trepidation, but rather her nerves frayed with the knowledge that not only was the well-being of all three resting squarely on her shoulders, but knowing as well that if they failed there was a good chance of them spending the rest of their natural lives in a cell.

Now that we have that out of the way…" she said, obviously steeling herself for what she was about to say next, "Where's this damn costume I'm supposed to wear?"

~V~

On the roof of a building across the street, Ruko Yokune was having her own issues with the way it rained in Clonderwell, which is to say that she disliked it a great deal. The chief reason for this was the fact that no matter how 'water resistant' the tag of her jacket claimed the garment to be, a lengthy stint atop a rain-soaked roof with no cover had nonetheless rendered both jacket and wearer completely saturated.

To make matters worse she had spent the entire day doing surveillance. Certainly not a task she was unaccustomed to, being a professional information broker, but also not one she usually conducted under such dismal conditions.

There was also one other thing.

In her experience a person that was unaware that they were being watched tended to act as such. They would go about their daily business as if nothing were different, and by proxy allow her to see things that they may have otherwise wanted to keep hidden. This was different, though…

Her eye twitched as she lowered her binoculars. Luka Megurine had to be the single most _boring_ person she had ever had the displeasure of tracking.

Ruko didn't make this distinction lightly. In her line of work one was occasionally forced to observe some _very_ dull people, but this woman took the cake. It was unbelievable how little she had moved in the last four days. Ruko could understand wanting to lay low, but she had seen people on house arrest that were more interesting than this.

It would have been considerably more tolerable had Luka's chosen place of hiding been somewhere less disgusting. After using her eye to track the Vocaloid master's residual aura to that miserable little hovel in the sewers, Ruko had settled down to watch and wait for her to re-emerge. It had been a long five nights, lying in the darkness without seeing hide or hair of her quarry. One thing was certain: that woman was good at disappearing when she wanted to.

It was a shame, really. Ruko had a perfectly good hotel room with a clean bed and free Wi-Fi that was going to waste while she roughed it in the slums. Unfortunately, Haku's orders had left no room for interpretation. Under no circumstances was she to let Luka out from under her crimson gaze, and the differentiation was not made between whether Luka happened to be staying in a sewer or a five-star suite.

To the sewers Luka had gone, and so to had Ruko. A less than appealing arrangement to be sure, but hey, it could have been worse. It could have been-

Oh wait. It _was_ raining. Fancy that.

The fact that Luka was not alone was of no consolation. The most interesting of the group were those twins, who had disappeared on some unknowns errands for most of the day.

They were a curious pair, those two. It had taken only a minimal amount of digging to discover that they were known as the Kagamine Twins, and had developed quite the reputation among Clonderwell's social strata. Career criminals respected them, law enforcement couldn't catch them, and a sizeable portion of the city's population viewed them as a pair of comic book-esque vigilantes.

Despite this, the sum total of their endeavors had amounted to nothing more than a nuisance overall. Even the most valuable of their capers felt more like pranks than anything else, at least until recent months. Since the start of the current crisis, they have expanded their repertoire to include…

She checked the readout on her smartphone once more.

"Assault and battery of federal agents, resulting in serious injury" she read aloud to no one in particular.

Ruko scoffed. _Federal agents my ass._ Those "unofficially contracted" imbeciles were nothing more than glorified thugs as far as she was concerned. The fact that they had been so soundly beaten by a pair of adolescent children was only further testament to their ineptitude. Their brutish tactics and brain dead attempts at planning betrayed a Neanderthal-level intelligence and gave real free agents like her a bad name.

She chuckled slightly. Then again, she couldn't really call herself a 'free' agent anymore. After six years under the same employer, she hadn't exactly had occasion to update her resume recently. Still, there was something to be said about job security.

Getting back to the task at hand, she once again raised the binoculars to her face. Hmm… the twins had finally come back from whatever they'd been doing. Looking closer, she could see that the sister seemed to be arguing with Luka.

Despite the fact that she couldn't hear what they were saying, Ruko was instantly interested. It wasn't exactly pay-per-view, but after the last couple days she'd had, this was better than cable.

It didn't last very long, whatever it was about. Even from the distance she was viewing at, Ruko could see Luka let out a great sigh before saying something that scared the two young teens, and seemed to make the blue-haired girl very happy.

She frowned slightly. That girl was an enigma. Even after four days, she hadn't been able to ascertain what she was doing here. She had instantly recognized her as the same girl that had bumped into her inside the DVA, but more than that she couldn't say. It wasn't like it mattered much, anyways. Her target was Luka. Any additional parties were inconsequential to her mission and therefore disposable.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the four people she was observing abruptly began to leave the alcove they had occupied for most of the day. She watched as they walked away down the street. Looking closer with her discerning red eye, she was able to make out a faint but solid trail of wispy pink vapors, the residue of Luka's Vocal powers.

Ruko took a moment to marvel at the sheer implications of that. She was lucky if she could see the trail of an average Vocaloid for even 24 hours after a maximum exertion of Vocal power. But even five days after she had first stumbled upon her, Luka was _still_ leaving a residual trail, and she hadn't even been at full power. The amount of energy that she must have been able to put off to have extraneous Vocal Point particles still dissipating off of her body this far removed from the initial event was mind-blowing.

Ruko smiled. If anything it made her job easier.

Pulling out her phone again, she punched in a few numbers and waited. After several seconds, a thin female voice floated out of the receiver.

"Yes?"

"They're on the move" said Ruko, her eyes still trailing after the group. "From the look of things, they're planning on breaking into the Clonderwell Department of Vocaloid Affairs. Tonight might be when I make my move. I'll keep you posted."

Several seconds of silence, and then:

"Very good" said Haku, before the call abruptly ended.

Sliding the phone back into her pocket, Ruko smiled. _Tonight's_ _the night Luka. I'll finally get to pit my talents against one half of the legendary Sigas Algrimo._ _Don't disappoint me now…_

Silently, she packed up her things, and made off across the rooftops after her prey.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Gumi Megpoid didn't sleep as well as she had hoped.

This was due largely to the constant state of stress she was in over hers and Miki's current location inside an air force base on heightened security, but mostly because Miki wouldn't leave her alone for more than ten minutes at a time without poking her. After the fifth such incident she finally gave up any hope of being well-rested and resigned herself to her fate.

"Oh hey, you're awake" said Miki, neglecting in her typical fashion to realize that she was the cause.

"So it would seem…" sighed Gumi as she propped herself more firmly up on the tree she was laying against. "Not that I had much say in the matter…"

"The matter doesn't matter" said Miki. "And what _does_ matter is that we know it never mattered in the first place."

Gumi looked at her with a nonplussed expression. "How are you so weird…"

"It doesn't matter" Miki quipped with a wide grin.

Gumi let out another sigh and let her head fall back against the rough bark of the tree. "Geez… How did I ever get myself into this?"

Miki tilted her head slightly. "If you hate it so much, then why are you trying in the first place? You should just leave if it's that much trouble." She tapped her chin in thought. "I'm pretty sure I could get you back out the gate if you wanted."

Gumi looked at her like she was crazy (which, she reminded herself, Miki probably was on some level). How could she possibly suggest such a thing after they'd come so far?

"Are you kidding? I can't leave now, not after we've come all this way" she said as much.

"Sure you can" Miki replied. "It'd be easy. There's no way that Ann would turn you away if you went back."

"Well I don't know about that, but I'm not turning back until I've got something to show for my troubles."

Miki smirked slightly. "Wow… someone's confident. I could have sworn you were a lot more timid than this a few days ago. What happened to the little scaredy-cat I met last week?"

"She lost the ability to worry about anything other than how to put up with you…" Gumi said, rolling her eyes. She stood up, slowly working out the kinks from her brief moments of rest.

"There!" said Miki suddenly, pointing. "That's what I'm talking about!"

Gumi looked to her left, her right, and behind her, and finally had to conclude that Miki was in fact pointing at her.

"I wasn't aware that you were talking about anything in particular" said Gumi, utterly confused. "But I'm… glad I could help, I guess?"

"Oh no no no!" said Miki earnestly, stepping forward. "It's not me that you're helping, it's yourself. Good job, by the way."

Gumi wasn't sure what Miki was getting at, but then again she supposed that was nothing new. She never knew what Miki was getting at.

"Alright… I'm glad I could help myself, then?" she ventured.

Miki sighed as if Gumi was missing some greatly obvious point of importance. Clearly this girl wasn't nearly as much of a genius as she claimed to be.

"Ah, that's too bad. You were really close" Miki said, wagging a finger in front of Gumi's face. "You haven't helped yourself _yet_. That's ok, we can try again."

"Look, I'm sure whatever this is, it's very important, but I don't really think that-"

"Nonsense, come on, do it again" Miki interrupted.

Gumi looked down at herself and back up. She looked around her again, making absolutely certain that Miki was talking to her and not some inanimate object. Truthfully, she hadn't seen Miki doing that yet, but at this point she felt that it was ill-advised to jump to conclusions. The superheroine's eyes seemed to be focused solely on her, however.

"Umm... What?"

Miki tapped her foot impatiently. "Well go on. We don't have all day. Hurry up and do it again."

"But I haven't done anything" said Gumi, becoming slightly annoyed. "I'm just standing here."

"Exactly" said Miki excitedly. "Do that again."

Gumi looked up, down, and even crossed her eyes, but still it was clear that whatever Miki was going on about it clearly had to do with her.

"Do what again? Stand? I can't stand up when I'm already standing!"

"But you did it so well just a second ago" Miki whined. "Just one more time, please? It's for a good cause!"

Gumi sighed. If it wasn't one thing it was the other. There was just no stopping the crazy train it seemed. Slowly, she sat back down against the base of the tree, closed her eyes, and hoped for a fleeting second that maybe when she opened them again, she'd actually wake up and realize that all of this was just a dream.

She blinked several times. Nope, not a dream. Oh well, it was worth a shot. With another sigh she got back to her feet and looked Miki in the eye with a deadpan stare.

For such a simple and meaningless act, it seemed to bring the star-clad woman a great deal of joy. She squealed and clapped her hands together, bouncing up and down.

"Yes! That's it! Perfect! Now you get it, right?"

Gumi hadn't thought it possible for Miki to make less sense than she already did on a regular basis. That said, she was currently challenging that supposition quite well. The genius could make neither heads nor tails of anything that came out of this woman's mouth in a regular conversation much less now that she seemed to have lost all semblance of what admittedly little cohesion she'd once possessed.

Miki rolled her eyes like Gumi was the stupidest person she'd ever met. "Seriously? You _still_ don't get it? Geez, what does it take to get through that skull of yours? Here, I'll make it simple. Just answer me this: why did you stand up?"

If that was making it simple, then Gumi couldn't begin to fathom what Miki thought of as complex.

"Uhh… because you told me to?" she said.

"No, before that" corrected Miki.

Gumi thought about it. "Because I was tired of sitting on the ground and I wanted to stretch my legs?"

Miki practically growled in frustration. "What the hell do your legs have to do with it? You don't need legs to stand! Do I need to spell it out for you? I said it before. You aren't a scaredy-cat anymore, right? So why did you stand up?"

"I don't see how being afraid had anything to do with me getting off the ground" said Gumi, truly at a loss as to what Miki was getting at.

"This isn't that difficult to understand!" cried Miki. "You were afraid, and now you're not, so you stood up. But why did you do it? There has to be a reason!"

"What reason do I need to put my legs under myself and support my own body weight!?" Gumi argued back, nearly at the end of her patience. "Standing up is not that complicated!"

"It isn't literal standing up!" yelled Miki finally, some of her composure (or lack thereof) slipping. "That's not what I mean! It's a metaphysical representation of your goals and your will to complete them in spite of encountered obstacles! God, how can you be this dense!?"

"Meta…physical?" asked Gumi, confused.

"Come on! I know you aren't _that_ stupid!" Miki continued. "Answer me this: you get knocked down, metaphysically speaking. That is to say, someone challenges your perceptions of reality, or attempts to prevent you from realizing your ambitions. You don't just lie down and take it, do you? So why do you get back up?"

For some reason Miki seemed to be really worked up. Her stance was splayed, and her hair was disheveled from the force of her declaration. Gumi wasn't sure, but in her own warped way it seemed like Miki was actually trying to… help her? It was definitely a strange way to show it, but strange was kind of how Miki operated.

Her speech patterns made it sound awkward, but the earnest look on her face made it _feel_ sincere.

"I… I don't…" said Gumi… not sure how to react. She took a moment to compose herself. "I think that… that I get back up because… because…" she thought about it. "That's what I have to do, isn't it? I can't just let someone else's actions dictate the way I live my life."

Miki calmed down slightly. "Closer, but not quite right. It's more than just the fact that you _do_ get up, it's _why_ you do it. If you get knocked down and have no reason to get up again, then you shouldn't bother getting up again at all."

"Do I really need a reason that much?" asked Gumi, perplexed.

"YES!" Miki shouted with surprising force. "Just because you don't say it, or because you aren't aware of it doesn't mean it isn't there. It's just like how the absence of evidence isn't the evidence of absence. If you're going to force yourself to keep going then it stands to _reason_ that you must have a _reason_ to stand!"

That statement was… surprisingly poignant, actually. Miki's words, while still shrouded in her usual mist of chaotic verbiage nonetheless carried a stark bit of truth to them. As they sunk in, Gumi really thought about it. Why _did_ she keep going through all of this? If it was so easy- as Miki had said- to just turn around and go home then why did she keep pushing herself to do all of these ridiculous things? The net launcher, the escape, and now this… any one of those things was crazy on its own, but together? It was practically insane.

Then again… Gumi glanced up at Miki with a slight smile.

Insanity had its moments now and then.

"I think…" she began, searching for the right words. "I think it's because I have to." Miki made to object again but Gumi held up a hand for silence.

"I have to get back up because there are people who would do the same for me. People like you and Ann. People like Miku…"

She bit her bottom lip, encountering for the second time in a week the novelty of having difficulty forming a sentence. Truly it should not be an issue for one with such a large vocabulary.

"She wouldn't stay down. Not even if the entire world was against her. Not for anything. She'll keep fighting and pushing until the world admits defeat, or she'll break herself trying."

Gumi met Miki's gaze with one of her own. There was fire in her eyes. "If she'd do that for me, how could I do anything less for her? You want to know why I'll stand back up, and keep standing up no matter how many times it takes? It's because there are people who believe in me. There are people who think that I can change the world if I put my mind to it. I don't know if they're right. I can't say that I think they should put that much faith in me. I don't know if I can do all the things that they think I'm capable of. But I do know one thing."

She set her jaw, her eyes steel.

"I'll never be able to do anything if I just lie down and quit."

Miki smirked. "That's what I wanted to hear" she said, and for once her tone was free of its usual bravado. "Keep thinking like that and you'll do everything they think you can and more, mark my words."

Her clothes may have been ridiculous, but her words were sincere. Somehow, Gumi suspected that Miki had known the answer to her own question all along, and she had just wanted Gumi to say it herself. That was ok. Perhaps Gumi had needed to hear herself say it anyways.

It put everything into perspective, in a way. She wasn't just doing this for herself. There were people who cared about her, people who believed in her…

Her best friend's smile flitted across her mind.

There were people who would fight for her.

Her expression hardened into one of resolution. She would fight too. She would fight as hard as she could for as long as she could. She'd fight for Miku. She'd fight for herself. She'd keep standing up against all odds and she knew why:

It was because she had a goal, a reason…

A purpose.

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

Well, that was the calm before the storm. Get ready for a lot more action from here on out, since this is really the jumping off point for this arc of the story. With that said, here's Lucentian Lesson #6:

FAMILIAL LANGUAGE

Lucentian culture places a large importance on personal relationships. They hold their families and friends very close to their hearts, sometimes so much that the line between friend and family becomes blurred. Their language makes this distinction.

In chapter 16 we met Yuki, a young displaced Lucentian girl who was separated from her parents when the quarantines went into effect. She has since been living with the twins in their hideout and has formed a significant bond with Len, whom she refers to as '_vitiga_'.

This is actually a term of endearment. As Luka stated, _vitiga_ means older brother in Lucentian. This is actually not entirely true, however. What Yuki really means when she says this is that she views Len as an older brother figure, not that he is her literal sibling.

The difference is in the pronunciation. The Lucentian word for old or older is _vitan_. It is primarily used to indicate the age of someone who is older than yourself in a respectable way. _Tima_ is the Lucentian word for brother, so the word _vitima_ would be how one would refer to their flesh and blood brother.

Yuki, however, calls Len _vitiga_. This is because Len is not related to her, but she still views him as family. The word for friend, _taga_, paired with brother would be _tiga_ (pronounced tee-gah). This word means brother-friend, or someone that isn't a blood relation, but is still loved like a family member.

Thusly, _vitiga_ is older brother-friend. Similarly, _sima_ and _siga_ are the words for sister and sister-friend, respectively. With that little tidbit, I'll leave you to contemplate what Ruko means when she refers to Luka and Haku as the _sigas_ _algrimo_.

Alright, on to the music!

"Tori no Uta" – I'm sure that plenty of you know this song as the opening theme of the anime Air, but this duet version of Gumi and Miki singing it kind of drove home the concept of Gumi's changing view of the world and how Miki is there to guide her through it. Read the lyrics, you'll see what I mean.

Youtube video: watch?v=WGCKsnhudYQ

"Leave You in Summer, Yet You're in My Fluffoughts" – Ok, first of all, be careful with this song, because it's so catchy that it'll be stuck in your head for days. It's basically about a pair of lovers (alpacas, in the song) that really only had a relationship when times were tough, and are now apart, but long to be with each other again. Taking the romantic aspect away, this is pretty much what Miku is feeling right now with Gumi missing. She is wondering whether or not it would be better if Gumi had never had to have her as a friend, or vice-versa. Good thing Luka is there for her.

Subbed youtube video: watch?v=_cqCa4IM8w8&list=PL247310A1981A5A9E (Again, CAREFUL, it's really catchy!)

That's it for this update. As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

Get ready for chapter 19, it's gonna be a hell of a ride.

This is AnarchySong, signing off!


	19. Raid on the DVA Pt 1

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…but the story is totally mine.

The full title of this chapter is "A Magnetic Personality! Raid on the DVA pt. 1" Enjoy!

*********************************Chapter 19***********************************

When the feelings began to come back, Teto cried a lot.

It hurt. It hurt so much. She cried for herself and her father, for Lily and for Uta, for the whole God-forsaken situation the world seemed to be unable to get out of, but most of all she cried for _her_.

The memory of her mother brought a fresh wave of hot tears to pour out of her eyes, and for a time Teto Kasane was completely inconsolable.

She wasn't alone, however. Lily was there at her side through the whole ordeal to help her through her anguish, and even to share some of it with her. She said that the reaction was normal for burnout victims upon sensory recovery, and that Teto had it even worse off due to the recent emotional trauma she'd experienced.

Teto was grateful that she had someone to stay with her. The presence of another human being made it almost bearable.

Almost.

After a time, when finally the crying slowed and Teto's sobs quieted to only the occasional sniffle, the immense sadness was replaced by a feeling of emptiness, as if the bulk of her pain had been washed away through her tears. Not a numb, insensitive fog like the burnout had been, but rather peace, of a sort. The anguish was far from gone. Teto could feel it still, bubbling in the pit of her stomach like acid, but for the first time since she'd woken up, it was tolerable.

The sum of the experience left Teto utterly exhausted not only mentally but physically as well. Whereas before her limbs had felt heavy and her thoughts lethargic she now felt as though she hadn't slept in days, and she struggled to keep her eyes open.

Lily told her that she should sleep, that it would do her good. Rest was very important to the efficient recovery of a burnout victim, apparently, and Teto raised no objections. The suggestion had barely left Lily's lips before Teto was out cold, her chest rising and falling slowly with the gentle sound of her breath.

She slept deeply for several hours, and when she awoke, it was to a feeling of renewed vigor and clear-headedness. Blinking as she slowly shed the clinging vestiges of slumber, Teto rubbed her eyes and glanced around.

She didn't immediately spot Lily, and a small pang of worry shot through her at the prospect of being alone and unescorted in such a strange and unfamiliar place. Her fears proved unfounded, however, when a flash of yellow at the foot of the bed caught her eye.

Lily sat in a chair at the far end of the cot, fast asleep with her top half sprawled across the sheets and her yellow hair fanned out in all directions. A small smile played across her face, as if she was dreaming of something pleasant.

Teto smiled too. It was more than she could have hoped for to have someone like Lily to stay with her as she came to terms with being- for lack of a better term- locked up.

The former pop star looked so peaceful; it was a shame that Teto had to wake her. Such a prolonged period lying in bed had left her in desperate need of a restroom, however, and she wasn't about to go traipsing around this facility by herself.

Walking proved to be a bit of a problem. Teto's constitution was still considerably weakened from her traumatic experiences making her initial attempts at standing look like a newborn colt trying to figure out how balance worked.

On her wobbly legs, the restroom seemed to be thousands of miles away, but her bladder insisted that she make the journey. She clung tightly to Lily's arm, and it wasn't until she had made it most of the way down the hallway from the recovery ward that she was able to take a few shaky steps on her own.

Still, every few paces she would falter and latch herself onto Lily's sleeve once again. Eventually, they made it to their destination, and Teto assured her that she could handle the rest on her own.

After her business was finished, Teto fell, rather than exited through the restroom door.

"Owie…" she groaned, rubbing her head where a lump was forming. "Why does everything have to be so hard?"

"You haven't used your muscles in a week" said Lily, helping the girl back to a standing base. "Give it a little while. You'll be back on your feet in no time, I promise."

"Mmmrrrr…." Teto mumbled as she held onto Lily for support. "I think I'll just take a nap instead…"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Come on, now. You'll have to get up sooner or later. You might as well make it sooner. I suspect that bastard Rossegar will want to get started sooner rather than later, too…"

Teto's heart clenched slightly in her chest. She'd nearly forgotten about the moustachioed man in the Doctor's coat. He'd been so… creepy.

He was a bad person. She knew it somehow. Even though there were no obvious outward signs. It was something in the way he smiled, like a lion stalking its prey. Teto shuddered. That gaze had made her feel like a piece of meat being sized up at the grocery store, with the doctor trying to decide the best way to cook her.

"That man…" she said quietly as the pair made their way slowly back down the hall. "Is he really bad, like you said?"

Lily didn't respond immediately, instead staring straight ahead as they walked. "He's a… brilliant scientist" she said finally. "Or at least he used to be. He was once one of the most respected researchers on the planet, in his field. He made unprecedented leaps in discovering the cause and process behind Vocal energy transduction. To say that he's anything less than astounding would be a lie…"

She grimaced. "But it's been a long time since then. He was involved in a scandal that destroyed his career. His daughter Neru… she was… incredibly gifted, a Vocaloid. I met her once. I remember that she was a very intense kid. She's hyper observant. It was like she just looked at me and knew everything about me. Not to mention the things she could do with her powers."

Lily shuddered slightly. "She could turn her Vocal energy into electricity. Rossegar was very proud of her for that, a little too proud. He always called her his 'crowning achievement'."

Teto listened intently. Neru sounded like a very interesting person. "What happened?"

The former pop star looked hesitant, as if perhaps she shouldn't have told Teto this after all. She still continued after a moment.

"One day she went berserk. She trashed his lab and killed twenty-three people before disappearing. That was eight years ago. Her father got caught in the legal crossfire and his entire reputation was ruined."

The look on Lily's face said that there was more to it than that, but she didn't elaborate and Teto didn't ask her to.

"She did all of that when she was just a kid?" she asked instead. How could a child be capable of murdering so many people?

"Well, 'just a kid' being fifteen, but more or less."

Something in those words sparked a thought in Teto's mind.

"She was the same age as me…" Teto said quietly to herself.

Despite nothing being said outright, Lily caught the implication in Teto's words the instant they left the girl's mouth. "Hey now, come on. That kind of talk isn't going to get you anywhere. What happened to you and what happened to her are two completely separate things. You aren't a killer."

"But… I lost control too…" she cast her eyes downward. "Those soldiers… I… I did terrible things to them… blew up my own house…"

Lily stopped her just in front of the double doors leading back into the recovery ward and gripped her firmly by both shoulders. "Look at me."

Teto made a half-hearted attempt at eye contact, only to drop her gaze a moment later. Lily grabbed her chin and lifter her face back up.

"I said look at me" her eyes hard and her voice clear. "That isn't the same, alright? What happened wasn't your fault. You had no control over your actions. If anyone should be blamed it should be that bastard Ross-"

"Careful what you say, Lady" interrupted a voice from near the doors. Out of the shadows stepped a young girl. She brushed a bit of long white hair back behind her left ear to reveal a childish face. A pair of red eyes shimmered like rubies in the dim light.

She smiled a malicious grin. "You never know who might be listening."

Lily froze mid-sentence. Her pupils dilated and her lips thinned to nothing more than a pair of flat lines. Her face contorted with a look of supreme annoyance as she slowly turned her head to look at the newcomer.

"Tei" she spat rather than said. "I wasn't expecting to see you here. I didn't know Rossegar let your leash out this far."

Tei's grin widened as her eyes lit up. "Oh, she's got taunts." Her voice was predatory, yet still shy, almost pouting. She kept her arms defensively close in to her chest, even as her eyes shone with malice. "What's the matter, reject? Still hurting from the beating I gave you?"

"S-shut up!" Lily snapped, faltering slightly. Her voice was reduced to a snarl.

"Ooh…" Tei cooed, slinking closer, catlike. "Looks like your ribs aren't the only thing I bruised."

Her ego notwithstanding, Lily's gaze nonetheless did not falter as she stared the girl down. Her eyes narrowed as she followed Tei's movements warily. "Cut the crap, Tei. This is the recovery ward, and even though I've wanted to I haven't broken your nose yet, so why are you here?"

"Hey, don't shoot me, I'm just a messenger" said Tei, holding her hands up in front of her. She sneered. "Besides, as if Little Miss Light Show could ever hold a candle to me." She raised one arm in front of her. Teto noticed that her sleeves were far too large for her small frame. The fabric fell back to reveal a delicate hand, gesturing at Lily to come closer. "Come on and try it. I'll dislocate your other shoulder."

"Tch…" Lily scoffed, but there was note of grudging acceptance about it. "Just… tell us why you're here" she said, averting her eyes in disgust.

"That's what I thought…" said Tei, smirking. "Anyways, not that it's any of _your_ business, but I'm here for the girl." Her eyes flicked over to Teto, and for a moment she swore that she saw the same look of irrational hunger she'd seen on Rossegar's face before. "The Doctor wants to see her right away."

Lily bristled immediately. "You can't be serious" she said. "He wants to see her _now _of all times? She's barely able to walk on her own again! She's in no state for-"

"If you'd like to try and stop me, you're welcome to it." Tei grinned, the glint in her red eyes growing ever so slightly brighter, as if she secretly hoped that Lily would. "If not, though, just stay out of my way."

Teto wouldn't have been surprised if Lily's hair had suddenly transformed into snakes, the way she was glaring at Tei. The singer slowly extended one arm out in front of Teto.

"I don't know what that bastard's playing at. But Teto's not in any state for him to be doing anything. She needs bed rest, not… experiments."

Tei's eyes narrowed. Her enormous sleeves fell back down over her hands as she lowered her arms to her sides. "I told you a second ago that I'd gladly dislocate your other shoulder if you gave me a reason to. This isn't up for debate. The girl's coming with me, even if I have to go through you to get to her." She grinned. "Can't say I wouldn't enjoy that."

"You can't be serious!" said Lily, growing desperate. Tei slowly raised one arm up to point at the singer and she cringed back slightly, but held her ground. "Teto isn't ready for this! At least wait a few days until she's properly recovered."

Tei's eyes were merciless. "Move. Or I'll move you myself."

A hand placed itself on Lily's arm. "Stop."

Lily's eyes jerked down to see Teto clinging to her, her gaze downcast and boring a hole in the floor.

"Please… just stop. I'll go with you, ok? Just… leave Lily out of it." Teto's eyes refused to make contact with Tei's. The hand on Lily's outstretched forearm trembled slightly.

"Teto…" said Lily quietly. "Please, don't let them do this. You don't know what you're getting into."

"Please stop talking" said Teto, her voice wavering ever so slightly.

"Teto, don't do it. They just want to-"

"P-Please!" The outburst was strained, pleading. Teto looked at Lily as her grip on the woman's arm became a desperate clutch. Her eyes were wide and fearful, like an animal's, her hands trembling and knees shaking as her breath came in short pants. "Stop it! If you keep talking I… I might listen to you!"

Lily was speechless. The girl was so scared she could hardly speak correctly. Even so she was standing her ground.

"I c-can't let you do it!" said Teto with a fear-induced stutter. The image of her mother being gunned down in front of her flashed across her mind and she screwed her eyes shut to try and block it out. "I won't let s-someone else get hurt trying to protect me, so just s-stop talking!"

She turned her eyes on Tei, and her body trembled harder. "I'll g-go with you. But you have to p-promise not to hurt her."

Tei smirked. "At least one of you has some sense in her" said the white-haired girl, clearly debating Teto's words. After moment she shrugged. "Fine, fine. Whatever you say. I'll leave the reject out of it." Her eyes narrowed again. "As long as she promises to _stay_ out of it."

Teto slowly pushed Lily's still outstretched arm back down to her side and stepped past her.

"Teto…" said Lily, reaching a hand up uselessly.

"Wait for me, ok?" said Teto, not turning around. "I'll be… fine, I promise. Just… wait for me."

Lily could only nod weakly as she grasped uselessly at the air in front of her, trying to bring Teto back even as the girl continued to walk forward.

Tei grinned. "Glad to see you made the right decision" she said, spinning Teto around and draping an arm over her shoulder. Her sleeves were unnaturally heavy, even for as big as they were.

"Don't worry, kid" Tei continued. "You'll be fine. I promise it won't hurt… much." She chuckled.

Even having acquired her target, Tei made no attempt to proceed out of the hallway. Lily turned her head and clenched her eyes shut. It was clear that though she spoke to Teto, Tei's words were meant for her to hear.

"You know, I haven't seen the Doc this worked up over someone in a long time" she mused, lingering with one hand on the double doors.

Lily's ear twitched, but she immediately turned around and squeezed her eyes shut even harder. Tei was only trying to get a rise out of her.

"It's a little funny" she laughed. "He hasn't been this excited since…" she smiled devilishly. "…since he met me."

It was working. Lily's head snapped up in spite of her best efforts, her eyes wide. She cursed inwardly for letting the white-haired girl's words sink in, but nonetheless her ears refused to stop listening. Something about what she said… It made it sound like Rossegar was planning to…

"No…" she breathed, gears turning slowly.

"Oh, yes indeed" Tei said. "I can't help but wonder if maybe he sees something _special_ in you." Her eyes darted quickly over her shoulder to look at Lily. She grinned when she noticed the effect she was having on the former pop star.

"No…" said Lily, slightly louder this time. She spun around, her breath coming slightly faster.

"I've got a hunch" Tei simpered, leaning in to breath directly into Teto's ear. The girl whimpered and cowered away slightly as the weight of the sleeve across her shoulder grew more oppressive. "I think he has more of a… long-term interest in you. If you catch my meaning." Her eyes glinted over her shoulder again as she noted Lily's state of agitation. Her grin widened.

"In fact…" she said, breaking eye contact with Lily to whisper to Teto again. "If I had to take a guess…"

Lily took one unconscious step forward. Tei licked her lips.

"I'd say he intends to keep you."

"NO!"

Before any further words could be spoken Lily had cleared the distance between them. Her eyes burned with unnatural fire as they deadlocked onto Tei. She screamed as she extended her hands, talon-like, to seize the girl that she might separate her from Teto.

Her fingers closed on nothing but air.

There was a moment of clarity as Lily and Teto's eyes met where the pop star realized, or had realized all along, that she had been suckered in. _I'm sorry,_ her eyes seemed to say.

Then Tei struck, and her thoughts were occupied elsewhere.

Faster than either of them could follow, Tei ducked, pivoted perfectly on her center, and brought the backside of her arm crashing into Lily's abdomen with far more force than a girl of her size should have been able to deliver.

So powerful was the impact that Lily was momentarily lifted off the ground and sent sailing through the air. Her face registered a split second of shock before Tei was on her again.

Teto watched in horror as Tei seemed to defy the laws of physics, moving impossibly fast before Lily could even touch the ground. Pivoting once more she brought her other arm smashing into Lily's side, again with an incredible amount of force, and slammed the blonde woman into the wall of the hallway.

As Lily reeled back against the wall, Tei swung her other arm around in one fluid motion, bringing the open end of her sleeve to bear.

With a dull hum of vibrating metal, four orbs shot from her sleeve. They flew one each into the joints at Lily's shoulders and hips and held there, leaving her pinned against the wall.

Tei was on her in an instant, her left hand grabbing Lily's face. She grinned wildly as a much larger orb levitated out of her other sleeve, supported by some invisible force. The sphere hovered up to eye level and suspended itself there, humming quietly as it floated rigidly above Tei's palm.

"You just couldn't keep out of it, could you?" she jeered, enjoying the look of pain and fear on the blonde woman's face. A gleeful light danced in her eyes. "Your friend even stuck her neck out for you and you couldn't do it."

Without warning she flicked the hand supporting the orb. It moved in a sharp backwards arc before slamming itself directly into Lily's gut.

The pop star gave a great cry of pain that came out as a labored wheeze as all of the air left her lungs. She hacked and sputtered, coughing as the orb punched further into her abdomen.

"I never could understand what he saw in you" said Tei, leaning in and looking Lily's face over several times. "Sure, you're pretty, but you're weak, and you're too much of a goody two-shoes to ever be anything else. It's no wonder he threw you away like the garbage you are." She shrugged. "Oh well, I guess that's why we're in this situation. You, stuck to this wall like a thumbtack in a corkboard, and me…" She grabbed the orb with her hand and twisted it back and forth harder into Lily's abdomen, earning another few sputtering coughs. "…Well, I guess my actions speak for themselves."

"Y-you're wrong…" Lily managed to get out between wheezes. "He didn't throw me away… I… left on my own."

"Your first mistake, obviously" said Tei, rolling her eyes. "It was probably for the best, though. He never liked you as much as me."

The pop star glared back as her assaulter continued to grind the orb back and forth.

"N-no... he…" Lily dissolved into another coughing fit before continuing. "He… he doesn't care about you either."

"Excuse me?" said Tei, and suddenly she wasn't smiling anymore.

"He doesn't… c-care about you. He didn't care about m-me either" she grimaced as Tei twisted the orb into her gut harder, but kept going. "I was just… a tool…"

Tei's eyes narrowed, and she dragged her arm back and thrust it forward again with renewed force into Lily's chest. The woman hacked and sputtered some more, a thin line of saliva trailing out the corner of her mouth. She struggled to breathe, but still kept talking.

"…Doesn't… augh… care about you…" she wheezed out. "You're just… just like I was…"

Tei snarled and drew her arm back again. "Shut up! You're just a reject! You have no idea what you're talking about!" She smashed the orb home for a third time.

A new pain blossomed through Lily's chest as the orb found its mark directly into her diaphragm and she doubled over as much as the orbs pinning her to the wall permitted, the bile rising in her esophagus. A slight gurgling noise came from her throat as her stomach threatened to empty itself.

"You're just… like me…" she forced out through gritted teeth. She smiled, a weak, grim thing. "Feel… sorry for you…"

Tei's face contorted in rage and she screamed into Lily's face. "Shut up! Just shut your mouth! You're just a filthy reject! You don't know anything!" She drew her arm back, leaving the orb hanging where it was, and punched Lily full across the mouth.

"Dammit! What did he ever see in you?! You're worthless!" she screeched, pulling back for another swing. Her blow connected with the same intensity as the first, and Lily's head snapped to the side, the back of her skull bouncing off the wall.

A trickle of blood leaked out of Lily's mouth as she struggled to turn her head back towards Tei. She spat on the ground.

"He doesn't… think… any more… of you… just… a tool…" she coughed as an invisible force ground the orb harder into her stomach. Throwing her head forward she retched onto the floor at Tei's feet.

Tei's wild eyes slowly calmed down to narrowed slits as she looked at the woman in front of her. Lily finally stopped talking and hung limply against the wall, supported only by the strange metal balls pinning her up like a puppet.

"You…" Tei ground her teeth together in fury. "You Goddamn reject. You're filth, nothing. Who are you to talk to me like that, huh? Nobody! Worthless!"

She seethed for another moment before she grabbed Lily's face again and forced it up to look at her. "You know what… I think I know how I can still keep my promise to that friend of yours." She shot a scathing look over at the double doors, where a young girl cowered in fear.

Teto jolted and flattened herself back against the wall as she was mentioned. Her heart beat wildly. There was a rushing sound in her ears as terror ate at her.

It was happening again, a voice whispered to her. Someone was getting hurt because of her, because she couldn't do anything to stop it in time. Images of her father and mother flickered at the edges of her vision.

Now it was going to happen to Lily, the only friend she had in this new, awful world she was living in. She was going to lose the only person that could protect her in any fashion. A look of complete horror etched itself into her features and she began to hyperventilate.

Tei eyed Teto with disgust before bringing her gaze back to Lily's bruised face. "I promised that I'd leave you out of it. I think I'll do just that. I'll leave you so _out of it_ that you'll never bother me again!"

Her expression contorted to one of crazed fury as she drew her arm back. Lily groaned as the orb ceased its torture of her abdomen and floated back up to orbit Tei's hand. A flick of the finger and the orb zipped back several feet. She fumed and grit her teeth as she screamed.

"Now hold up your end of the bargain and _STAY OUT OF IT!_"

She threw her arm forward violently and the orb followed, whistling straight towards Lily's face with enough force to crush her skull.

"STOP!"

The air thickened, an enormous pressure pushing in from all directions. The walls and floor shook and the foundations of the hallway rattled. Dust fell from the ceiling only to be suspended mid fall by the immense aura of power filling every available inch of space.

The orb froze inches away from Lily's face, held in thrall by invisible chains. The woman eyed the sphere as it whined and hummed louder, vibrating as it tried to overcome the resistance and complete its course.

Tei likewise found herself unable to move, the pressure crushing her from all sides, holding her in place. Try as she might, she found that no amount of physical force afforded her even a millimeter of movement. Her eyes fell on her orb, deadlocked in midair. She strained and pushed, willing as much of her Vocal power as she could towards moving the object, which sang with a metallic ringing as it vibrated wildly but still refused to move.

With a growl she stopped channeling power to the sphere. Her eyes widened as the orb failed to fall to the ground, continuing to hold itself up unsupported. She flicked her gaze to the side, and a brief jolt of fear shot through her.

Teto stood, bracing herself against the double doors, one arm raised towards Tei and Lily. Her hand pulsed and throbbed with an aura of power that distorted the air around it. The expression on her face was one of pain and desperation, her eyes clenched shut. A weak shudder passed through her form as the strain of using her powers so soon after burnout took its toll.

Tei watched helplessly as Teto cracked open one eye in a squint, her iris flickering briefly to white on white as the energy roiling inside threatened to consume her.

All at once, Tei understood exactly what the Doctor saw in this girl.

With a cry of pain, Teto sank to her knees, the glow around her outstretched arm faltering as the flow of power became unstable. The large orb clunked to the floor as Teto's energy dwindled and eventually stopped. The smaller orbs followed suit a moment later as Tei was finally granted control over her body again.

With a hiss, she backed off, rubbing feeling back into her limbs as Lily sank to floor, no longer supported against the wall.

"Dammit…" Tei breathed, staring at Teto with a mix of fear and amazement. "What the hell are you kid?"

Teto finally fell forward as the last of the surge of energy died out. She braced herself on shaky limbs as her breath came in ragged pants.

Tei's eyes flicked back and forth between Teto and the barely-conscious form of Lily, her brain working furiously as she made short, twitchy movements of anger, unable to decide whether to risk another outburst from Teto by finishing the job, or to just let the reject lie.

"Dammit…" she hissed again, working her jaw in frustration before finally wrenching her head to the side, her eyes clenched shut in fury.

"Grrr…. DAMMIT!" she yelled at nobody. Turning to look at Lily again she growled before jumping to her feet. "Gah! Fine! I shouldn't be wasting my time on a reject like you anyways!"

She stomped over to where Teto was still trying to catch her breath on the floor. Bending down she grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her roughly to her feet. "You're still coming with me" she seethed.

Teto yelped in pain and fear as she was unceremoniously dragged towards the double doors. She struggled against Tei's grip while simultaneously trying to keep her footing. She only barely succeeded in managing the latter as Tei kicked the doors open and jerked her through after.

She cast one last look at Lily as the door swung shut. The pop star lay where Tei had left her, weakly coughing and sputtering in a small pool of her own vomit. Teto tried to call out to her, but a violent tug on her arm brought her stumbling backwards out of the hallway, and the doors swung shut, blocking her from view.

"Alright kid" said Tei, threatening to rip Teto's arm off as she wrenched her along. "I've had enough games for one day. I'm taking you to the Doctor, and either you'll shut up and come along for the ride, or I'll drag you there." She turned her head around to glare at her. "Got it?"

Teto gulped and nodded her head weakly. A feeling of dread overtook her. Somehow the prospect of where they were going scared her even more than what had already happened. The lion's den awaited and she knew, she could feel it…

The lion was hungry.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Gumi Megpoid woke up.

This was interesting because she couldn't recall having fallen asleep in the first place, and even moreso for the fact that Miki hadn't disturbed her. Groggily she sat up and blinked several times.

Miki smiled, less than a foot from her face.

"Gah!" she exclaimed, falling onto her back again.

"Oh good, you're awake" said Miki, stating the obvious. "Watching you was starting to get boring. I was going to poke you in the face."

Of all the possible questions about that statement filing through Gumi's head, the one she eventually settled on was perhaps the least likely to get her a straight answer, but would at least fulfill her conversational obligation to provide some sort of response:

"Why?"

"Why not?" Miki replied.

Well, that certainly cleared that up.

Gumi wasn't sure which was more disturbing, the fact that Miki had apparently been watching her sleep for some indeterminate amount of time, or that she had also expressed a desire to poke her face. Either way, it raised some rather confusing red flags.

Then again, that could really be said about _everything_ Miki did. The woman wasn't exactly known for her ability to be the voice of reason, usually ending up being the voice _against_ reason, come to think of it.

Her thought process thusly concluded, Gumi wisely decided to drop the matter before she gave herself an aneurysm over-thinking something that really didn't warrant any amount of deep thought in the first place. It was times like these that she lamented her brain's proclivity for straining to find the logical solution to everything. Sometimes being a genius was more of a chore than a blessing.

"Why not, right. Great. Fantastic. Why is it good that I'm awake?" she asked, using her palms to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

As answer, Miki quirked an eyebrow. "Why else? It's time to go." She pointed up.

Following the gesture, Gumi glanced up at the sky. Sure enough, the tell-tale bands of cloudy red and gold heralded the rapid approach of a pleasantly cool summer night. A momentary pang of nervousness washed over her, but she quickly forced it back down. This was why they had come here, after all. It wouldn't do her any good to back down now.

Standing up (literally this time), Gumi smiled despite the growing feeling of trepidation bubbling in her stomach.

She was worried. Nothing was going to change that, but Miki's pep talk had left her feeling a lot more optimistic about things. Even it hadn't been so much a pep talk as a bit of random inane blather forced through a quasi-philosophical sieve and presented as a moral quandary ultimately resulting in an epiphany about her own motivations that she had kind of known all along anyways, maybe? But really, what was the difference? That's all a pep talk was when you thought about it, right?

As with any conversation involving Miki, the devil was in the details, and Gumi was wary not to let herself dwell on the issue for too long. At least it had given her something to focus on. Having a concrete reason for doing what she was doing was a great confidence booster.

She wondered for a moment what Miku would say if she could see her now. She wasn't the same shy, naïve girl that she had left back at home, that was for sure. It would probably be something along the lines of "who are you and what have you done with my best friend," but she preferred to let Miku ask the question herself when she eventually saw her again.

Because she _would_ see her again. That was her mission, and it was not one she was taking lightly. This base had the means for her to contact her friend, and she'd be damned if she was going to leave without at least giving breaking in and hijacking their satellites the old college try.

First they actually had to get to the 'breaking in' part, though, and Miki seemed all too eager to start on it as soon as possible.

"Come on, let's go, let's go!" she whined, practically bouncing up and down in excitement as Gumi made sure her bag was securely fastened around her shoulder and its contents safe before they embarked.

Her fingers brushed over the metal battery box that constituted one half of "The Concession", and she frowned. Really, why she had even decided to bring that thing with her was a mystery. With Miki around they really had all the firepower that they could conceivably need already. A modified TASER in glove form was hardly going to do her much good compared with a quantifiably insane woman with the power to produce energy grenades out of thin air. Still, the glove had nostalgia value, if nothing else. Was a week long enough to develop nostalgia? Whatever, not the point.

"Hold on" said Gumi, rummaging around in her bag. "We need to make sure we're ready for anything that might come up."

Even Miki, with her uncanny ability to rush headlong into any situation seemingly without caring about the consequences, was momentarily at a loss for words. There was trying to be prepared for something, and then there was impossibly trying to anticipate every possible outcome. If they waited any longer, she was going to go gray before they ever got inside.

A deadpan stare was her only response before she silently but firmly grasped Gumi's hand, and gently began to tug her in the direction of the main compound.

"Hey, come on now" Gumi protested. "We need to think this through." She pulled back, but Miki would not relinquish her grip. The tugging became more insistent.

"Miki, seriously. Stop that. We can't rush into this if we want to be successful."

Miki said nothing, only pulling harder. Gumi was now practically being dragged along as she struggled to hold the stronger woman back.

"Stop it! You're going to get us caught! We have to- AGH!"

Gumi shrieked as Miki abruptly twirled around, grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her over one shoulder to continue at a brisk run.

"Gah! Let me go! Put me down! You can't treat me this way! I'm a genius!" She yelled as she pounded her fists ineffectually on Miki's back.

Realizing that a response was not forthcoming, Gumi 'hmph'd' and crossed her arms in exasperation. "Let the record show that I was not in support of this idea."

"Duly noted" said Miki as she ran onwards. A small smile curled the corners of her mouth.

Heaving a great sigh, Gumi sagged, letting her arms dangle uselessly. _At least I don't have to walk…_

~V~

The pair of would be infiltrators slumped against the concrete wall of a building. Well, Gumi slumped, Miki sidled along to a steel door to examine the writing emblazoned upon it.

"1450 – Communications Hub" she read off the metal surface. She glanced at Gumi. "Think this is it?"

Gumi groaned and rubbed her face. She had a headache from being bounced around on Miki's shoulder and she was waiting for the world to stop spinning.

"Well if it isn't then the air force has horrible labeling conventions for their doors" she replied sarcastically from behind her hands.

How they had managed to cross the distance between their hiding place and the shady awning they now resided under was a mystery to her. By all rights a costumed madwoman carrying a flailing, shrieking teenager over her shoulder like a sack of flour should have turned more than a few heads.

It was eerie in a way, come to think of it. Not only had they managed to make it across the base undetected, they'd barely seen a single person the whole way. Also, weren't their supposed to be jets? Gumi was mildly certain that there were supposed to be jets on an air force base. Nevertheless, not one plane had taken off or landed since their arrival. To call it unsettling would have been an understatement.

"How have we not been caught by now?" said Gumi in exasperation. "We're running around like a pair of idiots in plain sight and no one has thought to pick us up yet? I thought this place was supposed be on some kind of heightened security! Where is everyone!?"

Miki scoffed slightly. "Kid, you've obviously got a lot to learn about the military. If there's one thing you can say about them for sure, it's that they're predictable." She crossed her arms.

"It's not just 'heightened security" she said, with a glint in her eye. "After the way we came in this place is bound to be at FPCON Delta." At Gumi's confused look she rolled her eyes. "Force Protection Convention Delta. It means that there's been a recent terrorist attack on a national or local scale."

Gumi scrunched up her nose in confusion. "Terrorist attack? There hasn't been any…" her eyes widened as she realized what Miki meant. "The gate…"

"Bingo" said the would-be superhero, a smug smile on her face. "This place is basically on lockdown. All non-essential personnel will have been sent back to their dorms. The only people left will be senior operation staff and security."

Gumi looked at her with mix of awe and suspicion on her face. Somehow, even though the idea was completely insane, she couldn't shake the feeling that Miki had planned all of this from the start.

"So let me get this straight" said Gumi, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're basically telling me that this place is deserted except for security forces?"

Miki nodded happily.

"And you didn't think to tell me this beforehand so I wouldn't tear my hair out overthinking it?"

"Meh, you got through just fine."

Gumi sighed. "Alright, I'll bite, what's the bad news?"

"I'm sorry?" said Miki. "What bad news?"

Gumi just gave her a flat look. "Don't try and tell me we're in the clear here. There's no way this is that easy. We're on Force Con Delta or whatever. There's no way that's safe for people who aren't supposed to be here."

Miki smiled widely. "What do you mean? We're fine."

Gumi narrowed her eyes, not convinced.

Miki's smile became slightly strained. "Ok, so maybe there's a tiny, insignificant, hardly even worth noting chance that they'll shoot us on sight."

As Gumi's eyes began to widen Miki hastily amended: "B-but that's only if we get caught! We're already at the building we need, and with my ability to automatically win at everything it'll be a piece of cake!"

To say that Gumi did not look happy would have been a woefully inadequate assessment of the situation. Her nostrils flared and her fists slowly clenched and unclenched as she breathed in and out rapidly through her nose.

"You're telling me that during this… Delta Force Convention or whatever the hell it's called, the security forces have the authority to shoot intruders on sight? Without reason!?"

Miki waved her hands in front of her as she backpedaled. "No! No of course not! They won't shoot us… probably. It's just… it might be in our best interest to get what we came for and leave as soon as humanly possible?" She adopted what she hoped was a winning smile.

"You have exactly ten seconds to tell me how we're getting through that door before I completely lose my cool here" said Gumi. One look in her eyes told Miki that she was definitely not kidding.

"_That_ I can do" said Miki, turning quickly to the door and placing her palm over the lock.

"And I swear to God you had better not blow anything u-"

It was too late as a muffled *THUNK* signaled the entire locking mechanism being blown straight through the opposite side of the door. Gumi's eye twitched.

"I… you… don't even…" she stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence. "Are you trying to get us killed!?"

"I think the important thing to take away from this is that the door, which was previously locked, is now unlocked" said Miki calmly.

"Unlocked!? It doesn't _have_ a lock anymore!"

"I fail to see the difference" Miki replied, her face impassive.

Gumi sputtered and gawked as a meaningful rebuke proved elusive. Though her vocabulary presented numerous combinations of words that would have been sufficient in normal conversation, she also knew that nothing she said would be able to make Miki behave. Finally, she grit her teeth, fixed the woman with a glare that could melt iron, and pointed at the door. Only two words:

"IN. NOW."

The force of Gumi's expression was enough to quail even Miki's irksome tendencies, and she shuffled inside like a scolded puppy, though still with the barest hint of a smile on her lips.

Gumi sighed and followed, letting her arms hang limply at her sides as she crowded in behind Miki.

The pair entered into what appeared to be a boiler room. A large, metal tank of unknown purpose was bolted to the far wall, and there was a faint hum of some sort of motor, most likely a central air conditioning unit.

Assorted electrical panels adorned the walls. The sight brought a measure of comfort to Gumi for some reason. It felt like forever since she'd been able to just sit down and tinker with something, and she suppressed the momentary urge to take one of the panels apart and put it back together again.

The door closed behind them and they were abruptly thrown into darkness, the fading light of evening having been the only thing brightening up the room. As her eyes adjusted, she made out a bar of light shining underneath what must have been another door leading further into the building.

"Exactly like I thought" said Miki. "Every time it's the electrical room. You'd think that someone would wise up and make these things harder to break into."

"At least it works out well for us" Gumi said, blinking in the dimness. "What do we do now?"

"Well, that door over there probably leads out into the main hallways. We should be able to find what we need from there, but there're bound to be people…" She thought about it for a moment. "We'll have to move quickly and quietly. There won't be many places to hide, so stealth is definitely key…" She chewed her lip in contemplation.

"Stealth? I don't know the first thing about stealth…" said Gumi.

"It's easy, just stick close to the walls and act like a secret agent" replied Miki, though for once she didn't look confident.

Somehow that response didn't do anything to help Gumi's nerves.

"We're wasting time" said Miki. "We should get going. It's late enough that the main staff should have gone home by now. But still…" she trailed off, casting a calculating glance at Gumi. Finally she spoke. "It can't be helped. I'm going to go scout it out."

"You can't be serious!" said Gumi. "And leave me here alone? I don't think so!"

"Calm down genius girl, I'm not abandoning you" she said. A roll of the eyes went unnoticed by Gumi in the darkness. "It's obvious to me that you don't know how to be sneaky. If the both of us try and navigate this place without a clear knowledge of the layout, you'll just slow me down."

"Oh I see, so you're just going to tell me to wait here while you go gallivanting off to who-knows-where, blowing things up and getting yourself killed while I rot in the darkness, is that it?"

Miki sighed in exasperation. "Look, the fact of the matter is that I'm a superhero and you're not. I might be willing to classify you as a sidekick, but even that's sketchy at best. You don't have the skills you need to do this."

She placed a hand on Gumi's shoulder, and for once her voice lost its eccentric qualities. "Ann made me promise to keep you safe. I can't let you come with me in good conscience of still keeping that promise. I'll come back for you once I've found what we're looking for, but you have to trust me until then, alright?"

Even considering who it was that was telling her this, Gumi could sense that she was being sincere. In the dim light, she could still make out the look in the super-heroine's eyes. It was the same look she'd given her on the day when she'd first arrived at Ann's diner, when she'd told her that there were people willing to help her, to shelter her, to keep her safe.

This wasn't Shooting Star that was talking to her, it was Miki, and she was being completely honest.

Slowly, Gumi nodded. Miki smiled.

"Thank you. I'll be back soon, I promise." She straightened up and walked over to the other door. "These places are all designed the same way. I bet they put the most important stuff right in the middle." She scoffed. "Idiots. A trained professional such as myself will go straight to the prize."

And the bravado was back in full force just like that. Cracking the door open and peeking out into a brightly lit tiled hallway, Miki turned around briefly to wink, and then she was gone.

Gumi rushed over to the door and stuck her head out just in time to see Miki disappear around a corner. She shook her head and smiled. Quirkiness aside, that woman was truly amazing when she wanted to be.

Looking around, she took in the atmosphere. Even from what little she could see, the place had a very… official feeling to it. Plain white walls accompanied a well-waxed tile floor. Fluorescent lights buzzed on the ceiling. The only relief from the uniformity came from several wooden display cases dotted at odd intervals along the walls. Inside, Gumi caught glimpses of medals and newspaper clippings, accreditations to the history of the base they resided on. A large banner at the far end of the hallway bore the slogan "Aim High."

Gumi wasn't sure what she'd been expecting. For some reason she'd pictured wide, steel corridors with soldiers marching back and forth, heading to unspecified locations to complete ambiguous tasks. This place just felt… normal, like an office building or a school even.

Against her better judgment, Gumi took a few steps out into the hallway to get a better look.

It was very quiet. She couldn't hear anything expect the constant drone of the lights overhead. She experienced the feeling that comes with being in a very big, very empty place. Gumi had never liked large buildings. They were too… open, far too big to be comfortable. She much preferred a cozy little nook in which to mess around with her projects.

A brief pang of regret at the loss of her desk popped up. She really wished she could have brought it along somehow, even if the idea of dragging a heavy wooden rolltop behind her tiny scooter was utterly ridiculous.

She wondered what her house was like now. Probably empty, and wrapped up in yellow tape. God she hoped they hadn't taken all of her stuff. The thought of her beloved projects sitting around in some evidence locker wasn't a comforting one.

Thusly lost in her reminiscing, Gumi almost failed to notice as a man rounded a corner at the opposite end of the hallway.

Thankfully only almost.

In an instant she was back inside the maintenance room, heart pounding as she flattened herself behind the doorjamb, her arms splayed out to either side of her. What had she been thinking, standing outside like that?

She heard the man's footsteps approaching from down the corridor. As they got closer, she considered making a break for it. That idea was quickly discarded. There was no way she'd be able to outrun a soldier. Better to just stay quiet and pray that her thundering pulse didn't give her away.

All at once the footsteps ceased. He was looking at the door, she could feel it. Time stood still for several tense seconds as she held her breath, awaiting her inevitable doom.

"Huh, someone left the door open…" the man eventually muttered to himself as he pulled it shut and continued on his way. Gumi sighed in relief as she heard footsteps growing fainter, lowering her arms back down.

It was very unfortunate that she didn't notice the fusebox affixed to the wall directly below her right hand. Even more unfortunate was the fact that she failed to see the large wrench sitting on top of the box. Most unfortunate of all, however, was the loud clanging noise said wrench made as her descending arm knocked it to the concrete floor.

Gumi froze instantly, her heart stopping as she heard the footsteps do the same. Oh God no… he was coming back.

She cast about wildly for something, anything she could use, anywhere for her to hide. Her options were painfully limited. She couldn't be caught _now_ of all times! Not when she was so close!

In a blind panic she leapt for the door on the far side of the room while her right arm plunged into her bag, groping around for anything she might be able to use to defend herself. Fittingly, the first thing it closed upon was the leather glove portion of "The Concession." She blanched. If there was one thing she didn't want to do again, it was use that thing.

She quickly realized she may have had little choice in the matter as the hallway door opened again, a young man standing in the brightness. She had only made it halfway to the other door.

His eyes widened in confusion as he processed the fact that there was a strange woman in the room, but that confusion was quickly replaced by realization.

"Hey you, hold it!" he cried. He hadn't needed to say anything. Gumi was too scared to move.

He took a step forward. "What the hell do you think you're doing? This is military property! You can't just-"

Gumi wasn't listening to him. Her mind was too busy processing thousands of possible scenarios of escape. None of them ended well for her.

Her eyes flicked back and forth rapidly, searching, scanning her surroundings. What was near her? What could she use?

The walls were lined with an array of electrical panels, switches, gauges, and fuse boxes. Gumi cursed inwardly. Let her open them up and she could tell you exactly how they worked in precise detail, but damned if that helped her any now.

To make matters worse she was currently standing in the middle of the room. She was in a veritable no-man's land. At her feet, a large cable lay across the floor, its bulk far too heavy for her to lift, and it's casing far too thick for it to matter if she could.

The answer, then, was that she was completely out of options in the way of saving herself, at least from her current position. She knew she could try for a hit from Concession, but the chances of succeeding at that a second time were nothing she wanted to gamble with.

Her jaw set grimly as she realized that her only viable option was to stall for time until Miki came back. She had no doubt that the explosive defender of justice would make short work of this man.

Her brain working furiously, she made a snap decision to do something incredibly risky.

Spinning around, she brought up the hand that wasn't currently clasped around Concession in a white-knuckled grip of fear. Concentrating as much as her frazzled nerves would allow, she summoned what meager amount of Vocal energy she could into her fingertips.

Mercifully, her less-than-stellar Vocal strength didn't fail her. As the notes fell like rain in her mind, her power likewise trickled down her arm and into her hand. Tiny green sparks danced between her fingers, and she steeled herself with a deep breath.

"Stay back!" she yelled, holding her weakly sparking hand out in front of her in what she hoped was a threatening gesture. "Don't touch me! I-I'll blast you!"

She didn't even know what she was saying. Intimidation had always been Miku's strong suit, not hers. She supposed it didn't matter much. Once this guy realized she wasn't any sort of actual threat, her words would be of little consequence.

Amazingly enough, however, the display seemed to give the soldier pause. He eyed the green light dancing around her arm and hand warily.

"You're a Vocaloid…" he said, caution evident in his voice. Rather than back off, however, he instead bent his knees slightly, anticipating a struggle.

"Y-yeah!" she stammered in response, wracking her brain for a few witty one-liners. How did Miku make it look so easy? "I-I am!"

Wow. Really witty with that one. She smacked herself in the face mentally.

"You should be careful, or…" she said, her thoughts moving a mile a minute. A stray idea leapt out of the ether and she latched onto it. "Or I'll do to you what I did to that gate earlier!"

_That_ certainly got a reaction out of the man. "You're the intruder!?" he said, shock evident on his face. Gumi couldn't blame him. Who would ever expect a gangly teenager like her to be the one who blasted her way past a secure guard post?

The man narrowed his eyes. "Listen, kid. If you're telling me that you're the one that blew up the south gate, then you're in a hell of a lot of trouble."

Gumi didn't like the look in the man's eyes. Rather than being intimidated into backing off as she had hoped, the man instead looked like he was working out the best way to take her down. He still kept his distance, but he shifted and moved as if to get into a better position.

As the seconds passed and the man continued not to be rendered into a pile of ash, however, the pathetic light show in her hand was looking less and less dangerous by the second.

Instinctually, she took a step backwards, then another. The man matched her two steps with two forward ones of his own. She considered turning and running for the door but quickly discarded the idea. He'd be on her in an instant. She'd never have time to get the door open, let alone get through it.

She took several smaller steps backwards, trying to buy herself some time. She knew that once her back was to the wall, she was done for. The grip of her right hand tightened around Concession as she again considered using it. Looking at the slowly advancing soldier, a sudden strike might be her best bet, no matter how slim the chances of success were.

All at once her back bumped up against something. She didn't need to look to know that her avenue of retreat had finally run out. The man knew it too, if the look on his face was any indication. Her intimidation factor was almost nonexistent at this point.

Slowly she lowered her outstretched hand back to her side. It felt ridiculous to try and maintain the charade of danger anymore: both of them knew she wasn't going anywhere.

"So… uh… hehe... any chance we could talk this out?"

The flat look on his face was all the answer necessary.

"Yeah, didn't think so…" she whimpered. As the man advanced another step closer she reflexively flattened herself against the wall at her back, her left hand splayed out to the side. Errant sparks and motes of light still jumped and danced across her skin, her powers fueled by nervous tension.

Though it was clear by this point that he had the upper hand, still the man hesitated. Gumi briefly wondered why he didn't just jump on her and get it over with until she noticed his eyes darting back and forth between her face and the hand that was still hidden inside her bag.

"Hey, let me see your hands" he said, eying the satchel with careful suspicion.

"Wh-what for?" she asked, already knowing the reason. For all he knew she could be holding a gun. Gumi lamented that the truth was far less reassuring.

"You know exactly what for" he said, echoing her thoughts. "We aren't playing a game here, kid. Hands. Now."

Gumi hesitated. If she actually removed her hand form the bag, it would tear down the last scrap of secrecy she had working to her advantage. Then again, it probably wouldn't matter in a few seconds either way.

"I said now!" he shouted, taking another aggressive step.

"Ok! Ok!" she replied, shoving herself back into the wall even harder, if that was possible. Her left arm pushed a little further away.

Her fingertips brushed against something. A split second dart of the eyes told her it had been an electrical box. It was bolted to the wall, a solid metal fixture painted beige. A series of insulated cables protruded from the underside, trailing down the wall.

An idea struck her.

It was reckless, stupid, and carried a higher-than-average chance of getting her killed, but there weren't any better options popping up.

She eyed the man carefully. She'd have to be quick, and she'd only get one chance. Taking a deep breath, she went for it.

Gathering as much vocal energy as she possibly could into her left hand, she activated the technique she used for soldering pieces of metal together. A small jet of emerald sparks issued forth from the tips of her fingers. At the same time, she turned completely towards the electrical box next to her. She lunged.

The instant she moved, the soldier leapt at her. Taking careful aim and praying that she had the material strength of silicon cable insulation correct in her head, she thrust her hand, still spraying its jet of green, directly into the edge of the cable trailing from the bottom of the box.

The cable buckled and burned as her hand drilled into it. She had only a split second as she grabbed the weakened insulation and pulled downwards as hard as she could. The entire fixture groaned as the cables tore off at the bottom, leaving a mass of sparking, crackling wires hanging beneath.

Her heart leapt with relief as she caught the severed cable as it fell, the exposed wires flashing and dropping sparks to the floor as the flow of electricity was interrupted. It wasn't a moment too soon. The soldier was practically on top of her.

As he grabbed onto her, she twisted and thrust the coruscating end of the cable directly into his forearm. The conduits sizzled and popped as they burned the fabric of his shirt and seared the flesh underneath. He reeled backwards, clutching his scorched appendage.

Gumi took the chance presented to her. Quickly drawing Concession out from her bag, she slipped the glove on and flicked the switch. The metal spines on the knuckles clicked and sparked as the current flowed.

In one swift motion she leapt forward with Concession. If she could incapacitate this man it would give her time to escape and regroup with Miki. She grit her teeth and screwed her eyes shut as she prepared for the inevitable impact.

She missed.

The soldier threw himself to the side just in time to avoid being electrocuted. Gumi's eyes widened in shock as the man grabbed her arm, twisted her around, and threw her at the wall.

She had no time to react as reflex took over, and she brought her arms out in front of her to catch herself. Her outstretched hands, one still wearing Concession's electrified glove and the other still glowing with a tiny amount of Vocal power, went right into the mass of cables left hanging from the bottom of the electrical box.

Her world went fuzzy as metal contacted exposed wiring and electricity arced back on itself. A violent tingling shot up her arms as her body completed the circuit, and she shook.

She was surprised to notice that oddly, the sensation didn't hurt. Rather it just felt strange. Gumi knew from years of working with electronics that being electrocuted was incredibly painful. She should have blacked out by now, but she couldn't feel anything aside from the strong vibration.

All at once the tingling doubled as a jolt shot up her left arm. The weak green glow surrounding her hand suddenly flared to a bright neon and spread up the rest of her arm in an instant. Her eyes flared an intense emerald as the most curious feeling overtook her.

It was as though her body was suddenly many hundreds of times bigger. Millions of new nerves activated along a vast network of neural connections, all of them signaling to one another constantly, a steady thrum of power flowing throughout it all.

The room around her faded away, and suddenly she could _see._ She could see everything; every wire, every circuit, every fluorescent tube and silicon filament. The whole building was like a vast network of electricity constantly flowing and moving, shifting and shaping. The green glow in her eyes pulsed and flashed as the raindrops in her ears intensified to a thunderstorm.

She could _feel_ the building. The entire structure was filled with untold lengths of wires and cables, all of them clearly visible, a brightly glowing matrix of green luminescence.

It was marvelous. She could sense everything about the entire network. There was a light out two rooms away. She could _feel_ that there was a light out two rooms away, how curious. A fuse had blown in the basement. Someone should really fix that.

A particularly dense collection of circuits and connections drew her attention. A huge computer, right in the middle just like Miki had said. She felt through to it, trying to get a better look.

Something looked back at her.

She shrieked and ripped her hands back out of the electrical box, stumbling backwards directly into the soldier. He wasted no time in grabbing both her arms and pinning them behind her back. Gripping the cable trailing out the back of Concession's glove he ripped it out, silencing the electrical clicking.

Gumi didn't notice. She blinked rapidly as the glow in her eyes faded and the room came back into focus. The entire experience had lasted only seconds.

It had been an amazing feeling, but she shook all over. She didn't know how it was possible, but there had been something else poking around the electrical system besides her.

She couldn't explain the sensation, even to herself. She wasn't even sure how she had tapped in in the first place, let alone how it enabled her to see what she had. The only thing she knew was that whatever she had felt, whatever that _thing_ had been…

She shuddered. It wasn't human.

Her thoughts were yanked back to reality as the man holding her pushed her forward into the wall, this time thankfully next to the trailing wires instead of into them.

"You are one tenacious little punk, you know that?" he snarled into her ear.

Gumi grit her teeth as the side of her head was rubbed into the concrete. She couldn't really blame the guy for being angry after she had shoved a live wire into his arm.

"You are in one hell of a heap of trouble, you know that?" he continued. "They're gonna lock you up and throw away the key."

He was right. There was little hope for her once she was in custody. A renegade Vocaloid and branded as a terrorist to boot, she'd be lucky to ever see the sun again at this point. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes, trying not to think about it.

Miku wouldn't ever find out what happened to her. That really hurt more than anything. She'd probably blame herself, too. That would be just like her.

"I'm gonna call this in, you just stay quiet" he said, rummaging around in his pocket.

This was it. Once they knew she was here and where she was it wouldn't matter whether or not Miki found her at all. She feared that a base full of soldiers was more than even the explosive defender of justice could handle alone.

"You know, it's too bad we're not meeting under different circumstances" said the man as he pulled out his radio. "You're pretty cute."

That snapped her back to reality. She shot a glare over her shoulder. Sure, he had her pinned to a wall but a bit of decorum would have been nice.

Noticing her scathing look the man chuckled. "Hey, don't blame me. It's not every day you meet an intruder with such a nice-"

"I daresay" a cold voice said from behind them. "I do hope the next word in that sentence is 'intellect'."

The soldier's head spun around so fast it was a wonder that it managed to stay attached to his shoulders.

"Chief Master Sergeant Shion!" he practically yelped, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. He sounded terrified.

"Indeed" said the man. From her current position, Gumi could barely make out the owner of the voice that had the soldier holding her inexplicably trembling in his boots. The only features she could make out well were a pristine white coat and a shock of electric blue hair. A chevron of eight stripes surrounding a star and laurels was stitched into the fabric of his sleeve.

"I believe you were saying something to that young woman you seem to be holding down though. Please, don't stop on my account."

"O-oh. It was nothing sir!" said the soldier. "I was just-"

"Yes, clearly 'nothing'" the mysterious voice cut him off. Footsteps echoed lightly across the walls as the man, apparently named "Sergeant Shion", walked leisurely into the room.

"I should think that it definitely wasn't a reference to any portion of this young maiden's anatomy, surely?" he continued. As he got closer, Gumi made out a pair of blue eyes, both of them locked onto the man holding her arms.

"Yes sir. I-I mean no sir. Of course not sir" replied the young soldier, a hint of a stutter making its way into his voice.

"Of course not" repeated the sergeant coolly, a slight smile creeping onto his face, serving only to make his already piercing glare all the more unnerving. "Such a sentiment would be most unbecoming of a sensible, upstanding young gent such as yourself. Not to mention that an utterance so crass as to make light of a young woman's innocence could very well garner some rather undesirable attention from certain, more civilized parties, wouldn't you agree?"

His voice was clipped and clean, practically oozing sophistication and class. He spoke like some sort of aristocrat, sounding very out of place in their current surroundings.

"S-Sir, yes s-sir" stuttered the now visibly shaken recruit.

"Of course I myself would never sink so low as to commit a petty act of vengeance, certainly. But when a lady's honor is at stake…" he cast a quick, almost imperceptible glance at Gumi. She could have sworn she saw him wink. "I should think it would be most regrettable if an upcoming go-getter such as yourself should become the target of a rather... _unfortunate_ series of happenstance."

The sergeant paused for a moment, letting his words sink in, before leaning in and adding, with a smirk:

"Hypothetically, of course."

By this point the soldier was practically shaking, his weak knees struggling to find the will necessary to support his weight. After a moment he managed a weak "Sir, yes sir" before clapping his mouth shut.

"Now tell me" said the sergeant, his face dropping into a dangerous frown, "What precisely is going on in here?"

The soldier's mouth flapped open and closed uselessly several times before finally managing to produce speech.

"Sir! This girl is the one who… blew up the south gate…" he said, seemingly realizing mid-sentence how absolutely ridiculous the notion sounded when put into words.

The sergeant seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Her?" he said, raising an eyebrow skeptically as he regarded Gumi. "This teenage girl? You're telling me that _she_ is the one responsible for the explosions earlier?"

"Yes, sir" said the soldier. "She admitted it herself. She's also a Vocaloid, sir."

If either of these facts were intriguing to the sergeant, he didn't show it. His face remained the same mask of skepticism as before.

"Surely you're joking?" he said. "You expect me to believe that an adolescent possessed the knowledge and skill necessary to set and detonate high-grade explosives, unseen, _and_ subsequently enter a base staffed by trained security professionals while avoiding detection and capture?"

"Uh…"

"And how, pray tell, did a _Vocaloid_ manage to do all this? In order to even get here, she would have needed to somehow escape the initial purge which, might I add, was country-wide and all-inclusive."

"I-I…" the soldier stuttered, wilting under the sergeant's gaze.

"A rather far-fetched-sounding account, wouldn't you agree?" continued the sergeant, not giving the soldier time to respond. "Are you quite sure your information is accurate? Because given what it appeared was taking place when I walked in, I would posit that a far more likely explanation for _your_ explanation would be to cover up the obvious sexual assault of a young girl."

The soldier looked stricken as the sergeant loomed over him, his expression grim.

"Did this man harm you in any way, my lady?" the sergeant suddenly turned to Gumi.

It took her a moment to register that she was being spoken to. The blue-haired sergeant had such a commanding presence. "Oh!" she squeaked out, barely above a whisper. "N-no. He… he didn't…" she managed to say.

"Hm. How very fortunate for him" said the sergeant, before directing his attention back to the soldier, who by this point seemed nearly on the brink of tears. "I should think that now would be a very good time to dismiss yourself and forget that this ever happened, wouldn't you agree?"

If the way the soldier exited the room at a sprint was any indication, he couldn't agree any more if he wanted to. The sergeant watched him go with an expression of detached amusement.

"Thank you sir!" said Gumi, finally managing to peel herself away from the wall. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along." She grimaced inwardly as she said it. She'd only managed to prolong the inevitable. There was no way this guy was going to let her go any more than the other, even if he was more polite.

"Oh, I wouldn't thank me just yet if I were you" he said, turning around. Gumi warily pressed herself backwards again. The man had a strange glint in his eyes.

"There are several things I'm very curious about" he said, stepping forward to stand over her. "Not least of which is exactly how you and your friend managed to blow up that gate.

Gumi's eyes widened. He knew. She could tell from the look he was giving her. Somehow he knew what Miki had done. Somehow he knew that they were the ones who had blown up the gate.

"I wasn't lying about what I said" he continued. "It is most difficult to believe, you see. An illegal Vocaloid, having evaded relocation, somehow ends up here of all places? I am unable to take such an occurrence as mere chance. After what you did to that young man in your hometown I find it difficult to imagine that you would actively seek out a place like this. You're a very interesting young woman, Miss Megpoid."

Her breath caught in her throat. "H-how do you know my name?" she asked shakily.

He straightened up, regarding her with a slight smirk. "Perhaps it would be best if you came with me" he said. It was not a suggestion. "I believe we have some things to discuss."

~V~

Miki burst back around the corner, jogging quickly up to the door to the electrical room. With a sigh of relief, she noticed that the door was still closed, a good sign.

Opening it carefully, she peered into the darkness. "Sidekick? Are you there? Good news, I found it. It was right where I said it would be, smack dab in the middle. What did I tell you? Winning. Nothing but-"

As the shaft of light from the open door fell across the opposite wall she stopped. The remains of a destroyed electrical box sat charred and blackened as a severed cable sparked feebly on the ground.

She took in the scene with an impassive expression. After several moments her brain seemed to catch up with itself and she sighed heavily. Only two words:

"…Aw, shit."

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Over the course of her existence Luka had considered many possible futures for herself.

Professional bounty hunter? That had seemed likely twelve years ago. Perhaps a full-time teacher of some sort? She scoffed. Miku alone was almost more than she could handle. Disguised as a delivery driver and transporting a large box hiding three teenagers she was conspiring with to access classified information?

Somehow the possibility had not come up.

Now that she was here, though, wearing said disguise and with said box propped precariously in front of her on a wobbly hand cart, whether she had foreseen this or not was of little consequence. The fact of the matter was that she _was_ with those three teenagers about to access that classified information and the sooner she just grit her teeth and did it the sooner she could start vehemently denying to anyone and everyone that she had ever gone along with this idiotic scheme in the first place.

Luka gave a melancholic sigh and looked dejectedly up at the sky. A gray drop landed on her nose. The cloud cover dimmed the already fading light of evening and was well on its way to bringing about an early night. The first hints of street lighting were flickering on and casting a reflective gleam on the wet pavement. She sighed again.

"How do I let you talk me into these things?" she asked no one in particular.

"Are we _still_ outside?" the box in front of her answered anyways. "Geez, how long do you plan on standing here?"

"Yeah, what gives, Pinkzilla?" came another voice from the box, this one younger-sounding but no less annoyed. "If you stand here much longer people are going to start looking at you funny!"

"Shh!" said Luka as Rin spoke. "Not so loud! We'll get more funny looks from a talking box than from me standing here!"

"Oh calm yourself I was kidding" said Rin. Luke could practically hear her rolling her eyes. "No one's gonna see us. We're like the only people on the street."

How the precocious twin knew this without being able to see through the box Luka had no idea, but a cursory glance to her left and right revealed it to be true nonetheless. Despite the relatively early hour the streets were nearly deserted, a few lonely-looking cars and a single pedestrian walking hurriedly away from them being the only signs of life.

"Where is everyone?" Luka muttered, narrowing her eyes.

"Inside, probably" answered Len. "Nobody wants to be the last one outside when the patrols come through."

"I should have guessed…" said Luka. Of course no one was out. Fear is a powerful motivator, after all. She sighed again. "At least it will make things easier for us."

"Not if we never actually go inside it won't!" said Miku angrily. "Let's go already! My leg has been asleep for the last five minutes and I can barely breathe in here! I don't- Whoa! Where the hell do you think you're grabbing!?"

"Sorry! Accident!" said Len. "I think you're sitting on my foot."

"Well your sister has her elbow in my face."

"That's on purpose."

"Children please!" cried Luka. "Silence is golden!"

"Yeah, well duct tape is silver and it costs a lot less" said Miku, presumably glaring at Rin, or Rin's elbow since it was apparently in her face.

Luka sighed a third time. "Look, I'm going inside. Either you three quiet down or I'm leaving you out here."

A collective groan went up from the bickering occupants of the box, but the voices still silenced themselves. Luka ran a palm over her face. It was uncanny how often she ended up playing the role of a parent when she was around these three. Miku was a lost cause, she had accepted that, but one would think that two kids who had been forced to grow up so fast would have developed a little maturity. Oh well, food for thought. She had more important matters at hand.

Taking a breath to steady herself she looked up at the front doors.

This was simple. All she needed to do was walk in, go straight to the elevator, swipe the stolen card, and go up. Quick and easy, or at least it should be.

She had done stuff like this before. This was going to be a breeze. Never mind that she was more than a decade out of practice, infiltration was like riding a bicycle: you never really forgot how to do it.

…At least she hoped so.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Luka steeled herself and pulled one of the front doors open.

Things began to go wrong very quickly.

The box turned out to be too large to effectively fit through just one of the doors. Cursing silently, Luka maneuvered herself so that she could prop the other door partway open with one of her feet. This in turn caused her to lose her hold on the first door, which swung back shut and bumped into the hand cart, blocking one of its wheels. Shifting her weight, she attempted to push the door back open with her other foot. This resulted in her losing her balance band being forced to adopt a half-standing half-squatting position while the box teetered dangerously.

Luka mentally thanked the heavens that she was wearing a delivery driver's uniform. Her current position would have been considerably more embarrassing in a skirt.

She at last managed to squeeze the box through after several attempts, only a few hairs out of place. As she wheeled it around to face the elevator, however, she encountered a second problem.

As her eyes fell on the front desk, she groaned inwardly at the person sitting behind it. The ill-tempered receptionist from the previous week stared back at her, a vein pulsing above one eye as she was interrupted from the latest issue of her favorite rumor rag.

Luka cursed her rotten luck. She was sure to be recognized now. After the way she'd acted when she'd been informed of the sealed records, there wasn't a chance in hell that this harpy wouldn't remember her.

And yet as the seconds ticked by the woman only continued to stare at her, her eyes betraying an intense annoyance. Why didn't she say something? Surely she knew who had just walked through the door.

…Or did she?

A sudden thought occurred to Luka. The last time her and Miku had visited this building, her hair had still been dyed black. Was it possible that the awful woman didn't recognize her now that her hair was back to its natural pink?

Not daring to believe her good fortune, Luka slowly pivoted the hand cart, flashed a small, apologetic smile at the woman, and began to move towards the elevator. The receptionist's eyes followed her the entire way.

_Don't say anything don't say anything don't say anything… _she prayed silently to herself as the penetrating gaze caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand up.

"Excuse me."

Luka froze, the cart jerking to a stop as her pulse quickened. Slowly she turned her head to face the woman, her expression still locked in an unnatural smile that was becoming more strained by the second.

"Y-yes?" she stammered.

The woman simply stared at her with a dull expression. "You haven't signed the delivery log" she said, rolling her eyes as she indicated a bound folder lying on the desk top in front of her. Her tone suggested at a supreme dislike for both the person in front of her and the fact that she was still being kept from her magazine.

"Oh… O-of course…" Luka replied, her pulse by this point a steady _thump thump thump_ pounding against her rib cage. She lowered the box to the ground a little harder than she would have liked, her nerves getting the better of her. A muffled "Oof!" sounded from inside, but it thankfully went unnoticed by the receptionist.

Luka walked mechanically towards the indicated folder, her mind whirring through possible ways things could go horribly wrong. What was she supposed to sign? Probably the name on the card that she was using, but she was pretty sure bringing out a card to check her own name would couldn't as suspicious. What had the twins said his name was? Frank Grisholm? Felix Gangnam? No, no. There had definitely been an 's' in it somewhere… Gah! Why couldn't she remember!?

Too soon she was standing at the desk, the woman's nonplussed gaze still watching her like the most bored hawk in existence. Luka didn't immediately move.

"Well?" the receptionist intoned, again gesturing to the folder, which obviously wasn't going to sign itself.

"I…" said Luka, struggling for words. "I… uh… I don't have a pen."

The woman gave what Luka believed must have been the most comically overexaggerated sigh in history and opened a drawer in her desk before all but flinging a pen at her. It clattered across the desk and Luka was unable to catch it before it fell to the floor. The woman rolled her eyes again as Luka bent down to pick it up.

Flipping the folder open, Luka grasped the pen between shaky fingers. As she bent down to sign what she hoped was the correct name (Fred Gristom, she was sure of it), she noticed with some trepidation how close her face was to the woman behind the desk. The fear of being recognized flared up once again as she could practically feel the woman's eyes on her.

_Don't recognize me please don't recognize me a Oniigasen napermo don't recognize me._

"Have we met before?" said the woman, narrowing her eyes.

"No!" said Luka, far too quickly. She composed herself. "I mean… Um… No, I don't think so."

She floundered for a statement to throw the woman off her scent. If she was found out, this whole operation, if one could even call such an ill-thought out farce of a plan an operation, would go downhill faster than that box would if she kicked it.

The face of her student popped into her mind. She couldn't fail now! Not when she'd told Miku all of those things about having trust! What would it say about her if it turned out Miku couldn't trust her to do something as simple as sign a book?

With the thought of her protégé in her mind, she blurted out the first thing she could think of:

"D-do you participate in any professional eating competitions?"

She immediately realized the connotations behind her statement the instant the words left her mouth. She couldn't help it! Miku could pack away food like it was going out of style! It wasn't her fault that thinking of the human garbage disposal brought up similar imagery.

The vein that had already been pulsing in the woman's temple doubled in size as one of her eyes twitched.

"Nevermind" she said through clenched teeth. "I've never seen you before." With that she snatched her pen back, slammed the folder shut, and went back to her magazine with a huff.

Luka was both mortified and slightly relieved. She hadn't wanted to insult the woman, despite her less-than-polite attitude, but she couldn't deny that it made things easier if she was going to be blatantly ignored.

Awkwardness hanging heavily in the air, Luka scurried back to the handcart, hoisted the box up again, and proceeded to the elevator. With one swift motion she produced the card, swiped it, and hurried inside before her comments could incite further interaction with the receptionist.

As the doors slid shut, Luka breathed a sigh of relief as she punched the button for the top floor. _I'm getting too old for these things… _she thought to herself. She didn't even bother feeling embarrassed. If this was what being young meant, then she'd take old any day of the week.

Still, she couldn't deny a certain sense of excitement. While the entire "plan"- if one could indeed call it that- had gotten off to a less-than-stellar beginning, she was confident that the rest of it couldn't be nearly as difficult.

"Are we in the elevator?" asked Rin from inside the box.

"Yes. As incredible and unlikely as it may seem, yes, we are in the elevator" said Luka.

"About time" Miku's voice came next. "I can finally get out of this stupid box."

"Not yet" said Len. "We're not safe yet."

"What!? Why not?" Miku protested. "I thought we were in the clear once we made it to the elevator!"

Rin loosed an aggravated sigh. "No, smart one. We're not 'in the clear' until we actually reach the office. It's not like I want to be stuck in here any more than you do, but I guess I'm just going to have to deal with it until we get there."

"Yeah, well your elbow is still in my face" said Miku, sounding annoyed.

"Still on purpose" replied Rin smugly.

Luka sighed again as the box rumbled around on the floor of the elevator, two of its occupants obviously in the middle of what she assumed to be a very claustrophobic and childish struggle. Rubbing her temple, she beseeched the only other voice of reason in their group.

"Len, where are we headed? Please tell me it isn't much further."

"It should be pretty straightforward from here" came the blond boy's muffled reply as he fought a losing battle to keep his distance from the scuffle currently threatening to engulf him. "The director's office is on the top floor, middle of the hallway on the left overlooking the street. You should be able to see it once the doors open- Hey! Watch it you two!"

The fact that they were nearing their destination came as a great comfort to Luka. She turned her eyes upwards to the floor number that was steadily increasing. Once they hit the top it would be a short walk down the hall, a swipe of the director's card, and they'd be back down the elevator and out of the building before anyone even knew they'd come in.

The box bumped against her leg as Miku and Rin continued their tussling and she groaned. At least that was what she _hoped _would happen. With those two around how it would actually play out was anyone's guess.

"Quiet down you two" she hissed. "We're almost there. Don't give us away now!"

With a resentful huff the squabbling stopped just as the doors began to open. Before Luka lay a long, empty hallway bordered on the right by cubicles and on the left by a series of boardrooms and offices all with large, glass walls enclosing them on the front.

"Which one is it?" Luka muttered through clenched teeth. "They all look the same!"

"It's about halfway down" replied Len. "Look for the door with a card scanner. And don't draw any attention to yourself. The employees on this floor should be mostly gone this late in the evening but we can't know for sure."

Pushing the cart out onto the carpeted floor, Luka cast a glance out the nearest window. Sure enough, in the time it had taken them to get here the already dimming light of dusk had darkened to nighttime.

She looked around cautiously as she proceeded down the hallway, checking for any signs of over-zealous workers that might be staying late. Thankfully, the cubicles and computer terminals appeared to be empty, their occupants having left for the day.

She spotted a card scanner next to the door of the most extravagant office in the place. Through the glass she spied a lavish interior replete with everything one might expect from a wealthy man in a position of leadership. A plush white carpet covered the floor, it's surface immaculately clean. This was contrasted by dark mahogany paneling on the walls, hung from which were numerous plaques and certificates, a testament to their owner's achievements.

In front of a large panoramic window sat a heavy-looking ornate desk with a monitor atop it. That was their goal.

"I think I found it" she whispered to the box.

A slight tearing noise accompanied the lid of the container being forced open as three very mussed-looking teenagers burst out, taking in great lungfuls of air.

"I am never doing this again" said Miku, her hair sticking up in every possible direction.

"Make that two of us" agreed Rin, looking no less miserable. "I'd rather die than have to be stuck in that thing with you again."

"Hey! You're no picnic yourself!" said Miku, glaring at her.

"Do you two ever stop arguing?" asked Len as he hung over the side of the box. "It would have been fine if you guys would stop bickering for more than half a second.

Both girls turned to retort but Luka interjected before they could speak. "It would be even finer if we could get it together and find what we came for" she said, eyeing them all with exasperation. "Can we just move on? I would like to not spend the entire night in here if at all possible."

"Er… right…" said Len sheepishly. He climbed out of the box to examine the card scanner. He leaned in closely and tapped it a few times. "Yeah, this is it. Just swipe the card and you'll be golden." He turned to his sister. "Come on Rin, let's go."

"Go?" asked Miku, eyeing the pair in disbelief. "You're just going to leave us here?"

"Of course not" said Len, sharing a wry glance with Rin. "We'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" said Luka. "Please don't tell me you're not going to mug anyone else."

"Oh no" said Rin with a devilish smirk. "We won't be too long. We're just going to steal everything that isn't nailed down. No reason we can't make this trip profitable for us as well."

And with that they were off into the sea of cubicles. The sounds of whispering and shuffling could be heard as the duo got to work stripping the desks of whatever valuables they might contain.

Luka didn't even try to stop them, far past the point of trying to argue legality with the pair of teens. It didn't help that Miku was actively shoving her towards the card scanner, eager to get on with it.

With a sigh, Luka produced the director's card and swiped it through once. The mechanism beeped once, a red light turned green, and with an audible *click* the lock opened. Gently, Luka pushed the glass door inwards.

In short order Miku had grabbed the card out of her hand and was across the room in an instant, already examining the computer. With a twitch of the mouse, the screen flared to life, displaying a message saying the system was currently locked.

Luka walked up beside her apprentice as she searched for where to put the card. "It's probably on the-"

She was interrupted as Len stuck his head through the doorway. "Oh yeah, the door scanner is probably wired to send a message to security as well, so you two will want to hurry up, just some advice."

Instead of yelling, as was her first inclination, Luka instead restrained herself. A sense of calm washed over her as she finally reached the limit of her patience. Without a word she reached over and plucked the card from Miku, who was currently searching around the back of the monitor. Ignoring the girl's protests, Luka calmly leaned over and swiped it through the scanner, which was affixed to the desk in plain sight. Miku made a rude gesture at her.

The screen flickered before opening up to a desktop. A small amount of searching located the database access. It looked exactly like what they had seen the previous week.

"You're too slow, move over!" said Miku, shoving her out of the way. Wasting little time, she selected 'Location' and 'Search All'.

Unlike before, instead of an error message, an enormous list populated itself before their eyes.

"Whoa… that's a lot of Vocaloids…" said Miku, the gravity of the information they were viewing beginning to sink in.

Luka had to agree. They were currently looking at the names of every registered Vocaloid in the country, organized alphabetically by name of relocation facility. A twinge of anger went through her heart as she scrolled down slightly. Every single name on that list was the name of a person who'd had their life and liberty taken away from them. Her fist clenched and her teeth ground together. It was inhuman.

"That's too many names" said Miku. "Search for Gumi."

Luka re-ran the search after typing in Gumi's name. More than one result popped up. Apparently 'Gumi' wasn't as uncommon as a name as she had thought. Still, there was only one with the last name Megpoid.

Miku again pushed her out of the way the instant she saw Gumi's name on the list. As though she was possessed she brought up her file, her eyes scanning the screen rapidly.

"Yes! Finally! It's about time" she said, scrolling down rapidly. "Alright, name: Gumi Megpoid. Age: 17. Birthdate… yada yada yada… not what I'm looking for… where's it say… aha! Here we go. Relocation status…"

Miku stopped, suddenly going quiet. Luka looked at her quizzically.

"Well?" she said. "Where is she?"

Miku said nothing. The hand holding the mouse began to shake.

Luka narrowed her eyes. "Miku?"

Silence.

"Miku, what is it?"

Suddenly Miku spun around to face her mentor, her eyes sparkling as tears threatened to spill over. One finger pointed to a spot on the screen.

Following the gesture, Luka read the line with a building sense of dread.

"Relocation status: Whereabouts unknown…"

Time seemed to stand still. The bottom dropped out of her stomach as her eyes focused on those two words.

"GAAAHHHHHHH! " Miku let loose a cry of fury and put a fist straight through the monitor. "GOD DAMN IT!" she screamed. "We come all this way and do all this crap to get here just to find out that they don't even know where she is!?"

Another yell accompanied her foot smashing through the front of the computer tower, a burst of Vocal energy ripping the casing apart.

Luka just continued to stare. Her mind worked furiously. She knew that there was more to this than was readily apparent. As her apprentice ranted and raved, systematically destroying the director's office, several truths made themselves clear to her.

Though it was far from good news, it didn't mean that hope was lost. The fact that the government didn't have information on Gumi's location meant that she hadn't been captured as they had originally thought. Whether or not it meant she was _safe_ was another matter entirely.

The real question was what they were going to do next. Without any idea of what had happened to the teen genius past Miku's last conversation with her they had no leads. Perhaps they could travel back to Miku's hometown and see what they could glean from that, but that idea seemed sketchy at best. There was no guarantee that they would find anything, and it wasn't exactly a short trip either.

Luka crossed her arms and thought hard. They didn't have a lot of options. She clenched her eyes shut. It was too hard to think with Miku constantly screaming and breaking things. And the fact that the room was so cold wasn't helping matters. Seriously, that breeze was chilly.

Wait… breeze?

Luka spun around to look at the far end of the room. One of the windows was open. She frowned. Something about that didn't sit right.

"Miku… did you open that window?" she asked, not moving her gaze away from the offending glass.

"What the hell does a window have to do with anything!?" yelled Miku, still in the middle of her rampage.

"I didn't think so" said Luka, with a hint of something like apprehension in her voice. Her eyes narrowed. "We aren't alone."

"Now _that's_ impressive" came a voice out of the very corner that Luka was currently looking at. "I didn't even make any noise." Suddenly, before her eyes the shadows began to warp and bend, steadily twisting themselves into a human shape that grew more defined with each passing second.

Finally, the darkness coalesced into the shape of a woman. She brushed a bit of her bushy black hair back from her face. A red eye glinted at Luka. A crescent of white split the shadows as the figure smiled.

"This is going to be fun" said Ruko.

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

So that was fun. I've been hemming and hawing over this chapter like a paranoid mother hen on meth. It's the longest one yet. As of the word 'yet' back there I'm at 16,666 words. But enough about numbers that no one but me cares about, on to the stuff that _you_ care about.

Unfortunately, there will not be a lesson in Lucentian this chapter. I'm sure you're all heartbroken but your tears will do you no good. It'll be back once more conventions have been introduced in the story. On to the music. Which is still here.

"Wave" – I previously stated that "Lily Lily Burning Night" was Lily's character theme. That was before I heard this. This song by Lily is my character theme for her. Her entire personality is built on dealing with the past to face the future. She is being talked to by the 'voice of the future', which I imagine to be Teto. The lyrics also speak of a relationship that's like electromagnetic waves, which I envision to be her past with Tei and Dr. Akita. It's a great song and you should definitely give it a listen.

Link to subbed youtube video: watch?v=W_wErdEQ6MY

"Our 16-Bit Warz" – This song by Gumi is great. Perfect sound for the situation that her and Miki currently find themselves in. Read the lyrics, they describe the Vocaloid crisis on the dot. Give it a listen, you won't be disappointed.

Link to subbed youtube video:  watch?v=zfmDv

That's it for this time around! As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

We're approaching the end of the second arc of the story. Hold onto your hats, it's almost time for a change of scenery… ;)

This is AnarchySong, signing off!


	20. Raid on the DVA Pt 2

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…but the story is totally mine.

The full title of this chapter is: "When Plans Go Out the Window! Raid on the DVA pt. 2"

*********************************Chapter 20***********************************

Teto yelped as she was dragged down another nondescript corridor inside the bowels of the Medley's Vale Vocaloid Relocation Facility. Tei didn't let up, still fuming over her encounter with Lily as she pulled the drill-haired teen along at a brisk pace.

Teto glimpsed darkened doors and shadowy alcoves as she struggled to maintain her balance. Occasionally the hallway would branch off into other inscrutable pathways that extended into the ether. What the building's original purpose had been she couldn't begin to fathom, but it couldn't have been an attractive one. The place felt sinister, as if evil and unrest had lived in these hallways long before any idea of a Vocaloid relocation had been conceived.

All at once the pair reached the end of the corridor, which culminated at another pair of double doors much like the ones that had closed her off from Lily only minutes ago. Tei burst through without slowing down.

They emerged into a dimly lit stairwell. As Tei mumbled angrily to herself and tugged ever more fiercely at her captive's arm, Teto lost her footing.

She let out a sharp cry as she lurched forward, experiencing a moment of weightlessness before losing her balance completely.

She didn't fall. An even more pained exclamation followed as Tei pulled back on her arm nearly hard enough to dislocate her shoulder. Teto screamed. Her joint was on fire, feeling for all the world like her arm would rip off.

Tei simply growled before completely lifting Teto off of her feet and descending to the first landing. With a grunt she deposited Teto against the wall, pinning her there with one massive sleeve and leaning in to snarl in her face.

"Alright kid, what gives?" she said, her voice dripping with barely suppressed rage. "Five minutes ago you practically turned me into a statue and now you can't even hold yourself up?"

"I-I'm sorry" babbled Teto, fighting off a wave of tears as her shoulder continued to burn.

"Sorry?" Tei spat, squinting at her. "You're sorry!? Oh, forgive me, I had no idea that- screw you! I don't care if you're sorry six ways to Sunday!"

She let out another growl as she hoisted Teto up until her feet were nearly dangling off the floor. "Listen here, freak. I don't know what you are, but I do know that I don't like you. What Doctor Akita sees in you is a freakin' mystery to me but there's one thing you better get straight…"

Tei spun around and threw Teto to the floor. She slid backwards, nearly toppling over the edge of the next set of stairs. She looked up and was greeted by the sight of a large metal ball hovering several inches from her face while nearly a dozen smaller orbs orbited around Tei, zipping to and fro like electrons around an atom. Tei narrowed her eyes and spoke crisply.

"Don't get any funny ideas about getting on the Doc's good side. There's only room for one assistant and that's me."

Teto simply stared. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was Tei… jealous of her?

"I… what?" she stammered, unsure how to respond.

"You heard me, you little powderpuff. Any funny business and you'll end up like the reject." Tei flicked a finger slightly and the large orb nudged against Teto's cheek.

For her part Teto was speechless. Did Tei really think that she had any intention of trying to muscle her out? The idea was absurd.

The look in Tei's eyes said that she didn't seem to think so. For one reason or another, she seemed like she was legitimately worried about Teto stealing her spotlight. It was almost comical.

The metal orb currently pressing into her cheek severely limited her urge to laugh, however.

Tei apparently took Teto's lack of a response as an indication that the message wasn't getting through. She stepped forward a bit until she was standing over her, bearing a sinister expression.

"See, people like me, kiddo" she said, with the hint of a malicious grin. "You might say I've got a really _magnetic_ personality." Her finger traced a lazy arc as she spoke, and the orb rolled itself over to Teto's other cheek.

"I'm naturally attractive. It's easy." The orb continued its steady path as it glided downwards, tracing Teto's jawline. "Sounds funny, I know. I didn't even pick up on it myself until the Doctor showed me how talented I really am. Looking at you now, though..." she scoffed, looking at Teto as though seeing something distasteful, "I don't know why I was worried in the first place."

Teto gulped as the orb moved downwards, sliding along the underside of her chin and coming to rest on her throat, where its pressure increased ever so slightly.

"You're just another weakling, aren't you?" she purred, narrowing her eyes. "All that power's just for show. You don't have an ounce of guts to back it up. Just like that damn reject, all show and no go. You're both the same. Just another project. He'll play around with you, then throw you away like the trash you are. You don't deserve to even be in his presence as far as I'm concerned."

Teto was decidedly worried about the direction Tei's monologue was taking. It was the same kind of rhetoric she'd spouted before she'd nearly killed Lily.

"But he seems to think differently." she continued, her tone growing more threatening. "That being said... I'll let you in on a little secret." The pressure on Teto's windpipe continued to mount. "Don't think for one second that I'm nice. Just because I pull people in so easily…"

Without warning Tei jerked her arm backwards and slammed it forward again. The orb followed suit, leaping off Teto's throat only to embed itself in the tiling next to her head a moment later.

"Doesn't mean that I can't push them away just as easily" she finished menacingly, bending down to glare directly into Teto's terrified eyes. "Understand?"

Teto nodded feverishly, any trace of comedy long gone from the situation. Whatever mental image she formed of Tei, it was definitely not going to be that the girl was 'nice'. Tei straightened back up, but the intensity of her glare didn't lessen in the slightest.

"Pull yourself together and stand up" she said, a note of disgust evident in her tone. "And try to keep up, we're almost there."

And with that she was off down the next flight of steps, the small orbs zipping back into her left sleeve as the large one ripped itself out of the floor and disappeared into her right.

Teto massaged her throat as she hastily clambered back to her feet and tentatively followed Tei further down. She shook slightly. To think only a few months ago she was worried about the next time she'd have to contend with Yumi's bullying. By comparison to Tei, Yumi was a saint.

Her legs, still weak from her being bedridden, threatened to buckle from fear as she descended. She clung to the railing for all she was worth, trying her best to keep up with Tei's brisk pace.

It was no use. A combination of terror and exhaustion sapped the strength from her limbs and she struggled not to collapse where she stood. Her spontaneous burst of power earlier had quite possibly saved Lily's life, but it left her so drained that she worried for the safety of her own.

She could do nothing but wobble forward as she watched Tei's form slowly get swallowed up by the gloom of the hallway. Every few seconds the girl would stop and look behind her, her enormous sleeves hanging down to her knees, and give Teto a scathing glare that made her blood run cold.

All at once Tei stopped at a large door with a knob, obviously an office or otherwise important room. She felt a moment of relief for the chance to catch her breath, but it ended quickly when she read the name printed on a golden plaque set into the wood:

ROSSEGAR AKITA, Sc.D.

It was a curious sensation, reading the inscription. Such a simple thing it was. A name printed on metal, but for Teto it spelled something far more sinister than just a title. There was something bad behind that door. She could feel it, as if every animal instinct was screaming at her that she was prey walking directly into the lair of a predator.

Even so, Tei's expression made it clear that she wasn't going anywhere but inside. Her glare looked slightly different, anticipatory, if Teto had to choose a word. It was as though she knew what was about to transpire, and couldn't wait to watch the inevitable slaughter that would surely take place.

With one finger, her sleeve falling back over her wrist, Tei beckoned Teto forward.

What choice did she have? She could either do it herself, or be dragged inside kicking and screaming by the magnetic monstrosity currently resting one hand on the knob.

On appendages that felt more like noodles than legs, Teto walked forward. As she reached the door, Tei placed one hand on her shoulder.

"Remember" she hissed, just loud enough for Teto to barely hear, "No funny business."

The knob turned.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Gumi Megpoid wasn't quite sure what she felt like at the moment.

Scared. That was a given. Over the course of the day she had broken into an air force base, hid out on said base, been carried like a sack of flower, broken into a secure building, hid in said building, been discovered hiding in said building, fought for her life, accidentally hooked herself up to an electrical system via vocal power, been rescued by a very convenient case of deus ex machina, and now she was being marched down a hallway towards an as-of-yet unknown location by a rather strikingly handsome blue-haired man who for some reason seemed to know who she was.

All in all it wasn't the worst Monday she could remember having.

Of course it wasn't just fear that she was feeling, though. There was a rather generous helping of confusion tossed into the mix too, as well as a fair bit of anxiety to boot. But despite it all, there was a tiny glimmer of something else, the faintest whisper of a decidedly Miku-ish sensation: excitement. That last part bothered her.

Here she was, almost certainly being whisked away into obscurity never to be seen or heard from again, and she was excited about it?

It was definitely the _strangest_ Monday she could remember having, that much was certain.

Hallways and corridors of antiseptic white and polished brown flashed past her wary gaze as the man, Sergeant Shion, if she remembered correctly, calmly led her further into the complex. He didn't speak, didn't even spare her trailing figure a glance as they walked, giving Gumi the impression that whatever he had to say, it was something that he wasn't keen on saying out in the open. Just as well, Gumi wasn't keen on the idea of staying out in the open any longer than necessary, though the concept of lying low was at best a moot point by now.

She briefly wondered what Miki would think when she found the electrical room empty. Meh, she'd probably see it as another superhero adventure waiting to happen. Gumi just prayed that the star-clad woman had the presence of mind to not blow up everything in sight trying to find her. They had caused enough explosions for one day that was for damn sur-

"We have arrived." The sergeant's voice cut through her musings. Coming back to the situation at hand, Gumi's fear once again reasserted itself as the dominant emotion.

In front of her stood a plain looking door, save for the incredibly complex and intimidating series of computerized locks and devices affixed to its surface and surrounding frame.

"This will only take a moment" said the sergeant. He proceeded to perform either the most intensive security check ever, or a very strange interpretive dance. It involved a lot of movement, at least.

A retinal scan, fingerprint scan, no less than three passwords, a voice recognition, and a riddle and the locks on the door unlatched themselves with an audible click and… was that steam?

"Ah, there we are" he said jovially as he grasped the handle. "Now Miss Megpoid, if you would be so kind, please follow me. Ah-" he paused, as if remembering something. "I feel it would be wise to advise you not to touch anything. She doesn't like it when strangers get too familiar."

"S-she?" Gumi inquired, her mind still lingering on the outrageous security system.

In response, the sergeant simply winked and beckoned for her to follow.

The moment she stepped inside, the entire place lit up, lights turning on automatically. She drew in a breath. It was _cold_.

Not like stepping out of the shower cold, or standing in front of a refrigerator cold, this was a full on wintery blast that sent her hair standing on end and goosebumps trailing up and down her exposed arms and legs. She could have sworn it had still been late summer a moment ago.

Reflexively she rubbed her arms and shrank into herself as the low temperature seeped in. She could even see her breath, for crying out loud!

The sergeant seemed to notice her discomfort. "Ah, yes, well… I do apologize for the climate. I prefer to keep this room a tad chilly. Helps with the computers, you see."

Chilly nothing! She would need a parka at this rate! Wait, did he say…?

Gumi's eyes widened. He did. Computers. Computers everywhere. They lined the walls, filled the corners, and even hung from the ceiling. Monstrous towers and flashing lights, the constant whirr of electronics a constant drone about it all.

Suddenly Gumi was in heaven. It had been _weeks_ since she'd been able to tinker with something. Everywhere she looked, some unknown piece of hardware stared back, just daring her to grab a toolkit and uncover its mysteries. She had to exert a considerable effort not to drool.

"What… what is this place?" she asked reverently, the temperature momentarily forgotten in the wake of the technological glory all around her.

"My office" he replied, looking around at the array. "This is where I conduct my personal duties as head of research and development with the aid of my assistant." He spared her a sideways glance. "Rather, this is where I _would_ conduct those duties, if my team would give me a moment's rest to be away from the lab. But I digress…"

Gumi looked around again. It was spectacular design for an office, at least in her mind. The far wall was dominated mostly by an enormous screen, surrounded by six smaller screens, three on each side. Beneath it a plethora of consoles and keyboards blinked placidly, awaiting their next moment of use.

Gumi wondered briefly where the assistant he had mentioned was. Home, most likely. It was beginning to get late, at least by the standards for staying at work. Even more so when she considered the current lockdown. Any reasonable person would be-

"Good evening, sir."

Gumi jumped nearly a foot in the air as a voice came from directly above her. She spun and looked up.

A small lens on the end of spindly metal arm looked back at her. It rotated and whirred slightly as it focused on her.

"Wha-What…?" Gumi sputtered, utterly unsure how to react.

"Ah, there you are" said Katio jovially, looking at the hanging camera with affection. He glanced at Gumi and smirked slightly. "This is my assistant. Mizzy, introduce yourself."

The camera responded by zooming in closer to Gumi's face.

"Guest unrecognized. Commencing facial recognition scan." The voice said again. Its tone was smooth and clean, a pitch perfect female lilt with just the slightest robotic element.

"I think she likes you" said Kaito happily. "Just be careful, she can get possessive of me sometimes.

"Facial scan complete. Subject recognized as Gumi Megpoid. Accessing background files."

A moment of silence, then the camera swiveled to face Katio. It was impossible to tell exactly how, but Gumi could swear that it gave him a look that very clearly said "alright, what did you do _this_ time?"

"Sir…" The voice said slowly. Kaito's grin became slightly strained. "Subject location is listed as unknown, and she is considered a national fugitive." The camera swiveled back to face Gumi. "I will contact the appropriate authorities immediately."

"That won't be necessary!" Kaito said quickly, wiggling himself in between the camera and the very nervous teenage genius it was currently scrutinizing. He smiled disarmingly. "She is a personal acquaintance of mine. She is here on my express permission."

The camera stared for several seconds, its lens whirring out and back in.

"Sir, might I remind you that protocol states that-"

"Yes, yes" said Kaito, waving it off. "I'm well aware of what protocol states. Mizzy, I assure you that all proper channels of authority have been notified. Definitely no need to bother them any further! No sir!"

Several more seconds of silence followed, during which Gumi was certain that the voice knew he was lying, but chose to say nothing.

"If you say so, Sir" it finally said, swiveling towards Gumi once more. "Salutations, Miss Megpoid. I am VY1-MIZKI, the most advanced artificial intelligence on the planet, and personal assistant to Kaito Shion, greatest technological genius the world has ever known."

"Oh, Mizzy, you flatter me" he said, chuckling slightly.

"It is hardly flattery, sir" the voice deadpanned. Gumi could almost hear an eye-roll. "I only repeat the phrase as it is the default introduction that you hard-coded into me."

Kaito's chuckle died in his throat. He coughed into his hand. "Yes, well, the truth is always less flattering than the illusion, I suppose…"

"Truer words have scarcely been spoken, sir" said MIZKI. The eye rotated back to stare at Gumi. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss."

"L-likewise…" Gumi replied awkwardly. She watched as the camera's lens whirred once more before the entire arm retracted into the ceiling.

"She's a delight, isn't she?" said Kaito. "I developed her myself, you know. She's my pride and joy."

"She's certainly… blunt" said Gumi, still staring at the space where the arm had disappeared. "I assume she still has a few bugs to work out?"

Kaito chuckled again. "That's a feature" he said. "I'll admit that she does have a certain way about her. Honestly, though, I wouldn't have it any other way." He looked at the same spot in the ceiling fondly. He let out a sigh. "But I digress… Impressive or not, I hardly brought you here to gawk at my accomplishments."

Gumi suddenly felt eyes upon her, and she turned her head to see Kaito giving her a searching gaze.

"Tell me, Miss Megpoid, what would you say is the definition of irony?"

Gumi was caught off guard by the question. "I'm… sorry?"

"Irony, Miss Megpoid" he repeated. "How would you define it?"

"I… uh… buh…." She tried, unsuccessfully to formulate a sentence. "What?"

"Come now" said Kaito seriously. "I happen to know from experience that you are not this inarticulate."

"How do you know…?" Gumi tried again, but again couldn't seem to make her mouth work. The entire situation was beginning to creep her out.

"I daresay that is what I am trying to explain" he countered. "Now, if you would…" he gestured for her to speak.

"Uh… It's… uh…" she shook her head. "Irony, yes. It's conveying a feeling using language that implies the opposite."

He smiled. "Very good, for a start. But what is it really? As a concept, that is?"

"I… I'm afraid I don't understand" said Gumi.

"Let me be more specific" said Kaito. "There are different types of irony. The one we are most interested in with regard to our current situation is dramatic irony. Can you explain what this is?"

Gumi was beginning to question the legitimacy of Kaito's line of conversation, but she didn't have much choice but to go along with it.

"It's a technique that an author uses whereby the reader knows something that at least one of the characters doesn't. But I don't see how that has anything to do with me."

"Don't you?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. "Did you not ask me only moments ago how I knew that you are usually a very articulate and well-spoken young woman?"

Gumi stopped. She _had_ asked that exact question. A feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't place it. It felt ominous, foreboding, like there was something amiss that she ought to have noticed a long time ago. Her nervousness resurged, but was quickly drowned out by other things, namely the thoughts currently running through her head. Her logical mind had detected something amiss, and it was determined to straighten it out.

Her fear was beginning to take a backseat to curiosity.

"I see the truth has begun to somewhat dawn on you" Kaito continued. "I am simply implying that in this grand story of life in which we are all characters, there is something that I know about you that you are unaware of. What makes it ironic, however, it is the fact that you are here in person for me to tell."

He gestured aside towards a small table placed against the far wall. "Could I ask you to please empty the contents of your bag on that table over there?"

Gumi was taken aback. One hand unconsciously gripped the fabric of her bag defensively. "What for?"

"There is no reason to be alarmed" said Kaito. "There is only one item in that satchel that I wish to see, and I am already quite certain that it is on your person at this very moment. Or at least what's left of it, I suspect."

Gumi's brain jumped into overdrive. Even without him saying it directly, there was only one item that Kaito could possibly be talking about. Slowly she walked over to the table and unshouldered her bag, placing it down on the metal surface. Opening the top flap she dug around straight to the bottom and removed the shattered pieces of the walkie.

Carefully she cradled them in her hands. She was so close to her friend. Despite the miles separating them, with these pieces only a thin barrier of technology kept them apart. So close, and yet so far.

"I take it you're referring to these…" she said, turning around with the pieces still in hand.

Kaito's eyes shone with unrepressed intrigue. "Ah, yes…" he breathed. "Now you're catching on. Very intuitive of you."

He slowly approached her and picked up a single fragment. He held it up to the light and examined it for several seconds.

"I suppose you're still very confused" he spoke, not taking his eyes off the bit of metal. "Allow me to clear a few things up."

He replaced the piece he was holding and picked up another. Several months ago I received a security alert that an unknown signal had connected to my personal communications satellite. I was understandably concerned. That satellite has some rather strict security measures in place to prevent that exact scenario from happening. I had Mizzy trace the signal back to its origin, but the signal had died before she could ascertain where it came from."

"I was angry, I will admit. It's not every day… Or really it is not _ever_ that someone manages to break into my systems. I vowed that if it happened again, I would be ready."

He replaced the shard he was toying with to pick up another, this time his eyes lingered on Gumi's face.

"I did not have to wait long. The very next day the same warning came through that the mysterious signal was once again bypassing my considerable defenses. More quickly this time I traced it and managed to find the source in a small suburban town several dozen miles away. I immediately picked up the phone to send someone to investigate, but I stopped."

He gave her a curious look. "I cannot say what compelled me to do so. Perhaps it was my pride getting in the way, but I just _had_ to know the identity of this mystery man. The signal was still open. Having traced it back to its point of origin, it was a simple matter to open up a channel of my own. I was fully prepared to condemn the person on the other side of the line for what they had done, but again… I stopped…"

He had stopped paying attention to the pieces in Gumi's hands at this point, as had she.

"No man. No mysterious foreign agent. No cyber criminal genius intent on blackmailing me. Just two young girls, talking about the things that young girls consider important." Kaito had a strange look on his face.

"You and your friend. Miku, I believe her name was."

Gumi's heart stopped. A puzzle piece clicked into place, and the big picture suddenly made sense. Kaito didn't just know a few things about her, he knew practically _everything_ about her. Every single conversation she'd had with Miku over the past months. All of the things she'd said, the secrets she'd revealed. She blanched slightly at the implication.

Kaito wasn't done. "The fact that you accomplished such a feat is rather remarkable on its own. It is rather more remarkable that you are not currently residing in a detention center for committing treason. I assume that you know that the breach of military satellite communications is a federal offense?"

Gumi had no words, everything was moving too quickly.

Kaito continued, his tone growing more severe. "On top of all of this you are an illegal Vocaloid who has evaded capture. You are a wanted fugitive and every second I delay turning you over to the proper authorities your grave only gets deeper. It is my prerogative, nay, my duty to hand you over that you might be brought to justice."

His gaze was colder than ice, then it softened.

"But I don't think I shall."

Gumi did a double take. "W-what?"

"I don't believe it is what is best in this situation" he said simply. "You and I have more in common than you might think, young lady. We are both geniuses. That much is clear from the months-worth of your conversations I've listened to. More importantly we are both civil beings, individuals who strive to hold themselves to a higher standard. It's very poetic, if I do say so."

"I… I'm not sure I understand…" said Gumi.

"Look around you" said Kaito. "Look at the state of the world. Chivalry, honor, and most importantly civility are dead as an institution, Miss Megpoid. You and I are simply two of the last remaining practitioners of a dead art. Two sole beacons of light in a dark place."

He leaned in closely, closing Gumi's fingers over the pieces of the walkie. "We are both geniuses, both good people, but most importantly, we have something else in common as well…"

Gently he held his left palm facing upwards in front of her face. He placed his other hand several inches above it facing downwards. With a smile and a miniscule flash of blue light, a thin mist formed in the air between his palms, solidifying quickly into a multitude of tiny ice crystals.

"We're both Vocaloids…" Gumi said breathlessly.

His eyes sparkled. "Indeed."

"But you... you're…" Gumi sputtered. "You're one of them! But you're like me! Why aren't you being hauled off to one of those facilities too?"

Kaito's expression darkened. He brought his palms together, dissipating the crystals back into vapor. "You are right to make the comparison between us. The only difference in our situations is that I am considerably more well-equipped to deal with it than you are. The world is a terrible place these days, Miss Megpoid. Corruption and deceit run deep. Only those with the wits or the means, of which I have both, will find it easier to escape the tide of change."

Gumi only looked confused.

Kaito sighed. "Money, Miss Megpoid, money. I am only spared the trials of my fellow Vocaloids due to my wealth and good standing. It is not a fact that I am particularly proud of, but one that is true regardless."

Gumi said nothing. The fact that Kaito was using his power to keep himself safe was an ugly thing, but she supposed that the real blame was with the government that made it necessary for him to do so in the first place.

"I… suppose that makes sense."

"You must think me a terrible person" he said. "I cannot deny that I felt conflicted about listening in on your personal affairs over the past months, just as I cannot deny that I am ashamed that my salvation comes only at the cost of the condemnation of so many others."

He remained silent for several seconds.

"I would very much like to make it up to you."

"That's… that's really not necessary" said Gumi, still hardly daring to believe that she wasn't being thrown blindfolded into the back of some government vehicle. "You've already saved me once. There isn't really anything else you can do."

"Isn't there, though?" he said, smirking devilishly. He snapped his fingers. "Mizzy?"

"You called sir?" came the smooth voice, this time unaccompanied by the camera.

"Open a communications channel through satellite marker G-17, would you?"

"At once, sir."

The enormous screen as well as the smaller ones surrounding it suddenly glowed to life, displaying countless readouts and statistics.

"Open a channel…" Gumi inquired, squinting in confusion. "What…?"

"I daresay it has been too long since you spoke to your friend" replied Kaito. "Let me fix that, won't you?"

Gumi was speechless. "You… you can call Miku?"

"Is it that surprising? It is _my_ satellite after all. But we can talk about that later. I believe you have some catching up to do, hm?"

Scarcely daring to believe that it was possible, Gumi slowly turned her eyes to face the large screen. A series of red bars danced back and forth as the connection was established. All at once the bars blinked green.

The line crackled to life…

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

"This is going to be fun" said Ruko with a devilish smile.

Luka stared at the figure that had just appeared quite literally out of thin air. One moment there had been nothing, and the next a woman had seemingly formed herself out the shadows.

"Miku, stop" said Luka, watching the newcomer warily. Her protégé had as of yet failed to notice that they were no longer alone, distracted as she was by her current task of utterly dismantling the office in a fit of blind rage.

"I'll do whatever the hell I feel like do-!" Miku came up short, catching a glimpse of Ruko as she turned around to tell her mentor to shove it. "Who the hell are you!?" she said, pointing a finger at the newcomer.

"An apt question" said Luka, her eyes not leaving the corner. Given what she had seen already, it seemed unwise to lose track of someone who had been invisible only seconds ago. "Who are you?"

"Who I am is of no consequence. Who I work for, on the other hand, is something I'm sure you'll be very interested in, Luka Megurine."

Hearing the woman say her name caught Luka by surprise. Her breath caught in her throat and her blood ran cold. It wasn't possible. It just wasn't possible. How did this woman know her name? She could count the people she'd had any sort of meaningful contact with in the past twelve years on one hand, and this woman was most certainly not one of them.

"I-I'm sorry…" she said. "I think you must have me confused with someone else."

"Luka Megurine" she repeated. "The Legendary Assassin? Crimson Beast of Lucentia? The Wind's Compliment? She-Tiger of the East? Please, I know exactly who you are."

She paused. "You know, for someone so popular you're damn near flippin' impossible to find."

Ok, so the ignorant approach obviously wasn't going to work. Luka wracked her brain, trying in vain to think of anywhere she could have let slip her true identity. She came up blank.

"Ok, you know who I am. How?" asked Luka, trying to ascertain the extent of the woman's knowledge.

"Again, not important" said Ruko, waving off Luka's comment. "The point is that I know who you are, and that's all I need."

"What about me?" Miku cut in. "I'll bet you heard of me too. I'm-"

"Don't know, don't care" said Ruko dismissively.

"Why you-!" she began but Luka stopped her.

"Alright, you've obviously done a fair amount of work to find me. I'll go ahead and assume that did it for a reason."

"Heh, straight to the point, I like that" said Ruko, stepping out from the corner. "I'll break it down for you. My… employer, would very much like to speak with you. She's an individual of considerable skill, not all too different from yourself, in fact. She would like to propose a deal."

"A deal…" Luka repeated slowly. "Right… and what sort of, ahem, 'deal' are we talking about here?"

Ruko smiled genuinely. "Oh, nothing too dramatic. She wants you to help her take over the world."

Silence fell over the room for several moments. Neither Miku, nor Luka could tell if the woman was being serious.

"Uhh… what?" Miku finally broke the silence.

"Indeed" said Luka, her face bearing the same expression of confusion as her student. "What?"

Ruko rolled her eyes. "It's a simple question. Would you or would you not like to assist my employer in conquering the entirety of the known world? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, so think carefully."

Luka was eying the woman like she was crazy, which was a distinct possibility, now that she thought about it.

"You're a nutjob" said Miku, far more blunt than what Luka had in mind, but it conveyed the same general idea.

"Quiet, runt. Nobody asked you" said Ruko, flashing her an annoyed look. Miku glared at her.

"That's a very… interesting request" said Luka carefully, gauging the woman's response. "I can't say I've ever been asked that before. Forgive me for being skeptical, but how exactly does your 'employer' plan to go about this?"

"She heads a very specific organization. One which is currently in a very good position to make such plans a reality. She controls enormous power and wealth, as well as several prominent positions in government."

"I… see…" said Luka, becoming less and less sure of the woman's sanity by the second. "And who, if I could be so bold as to inquire, is this mysterious employer of yours?"

"Like I said before, she's similar to you, someone you've met before, actually. You were both once mercenaries of considerable skill. She has simply recognized your talents and wishes to utilize them."

Luka didn't like where this was leading. She was well aware of the fact that she had made her fair share of enemies over the course of her illustrious career as a bounty hunter. The person this woman was speaking of could be any number of rival mercenaries that she'd had run-ins with in the past. Unfortunately, she was at a loss as to which of them, if any, possessed the wherewithal to pull off what this woman was suggesting. Taking over a country was hard for an invading army, it was mad to think that any one person could possibly orchestrate such a thing alone.

"Listen" said Luka carefully. "I know that more than a few people would have liked to see me dead twelve years ago, but I severed those ties a long time ago. Whoever your employer is, I assure you that I have no quarrel with them any longer, nor do I have any desire to participate in any of their schemes. My days as a mercenary are over, in the past as they should be."

"Cute speech, but the past has a funny way of catching up with us" said Ruko in return. "You've burned plenty of bridges, but the people you left on the other side haven't forgotten."

Luka's eyes narrowed. "I cannot think of a possible reason you could have that would convince me to care. If the past is as important as you say, then I assume you know that attempting to force me to cooperate is a fool's errand. I did not earn the titles you applied to me by accident."

"Hey, hey, no need to get violent" said Ruko, holding her hands up. "I'm well aware of your reputation. However, my employer was emphatic: you _will_ speak with her."

"And what on earth makes you think that?"

Ruko's red eye glinted. "Because, you made a promise. One that my employer is quite certain that you will not break."

"I assure you, whatever promise you think I made you are sorely mistak-"

"Haku Yowane."

Luka froze. Time stopped as Ruko's voice echoed in her ears. Suddenly she couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, she could only stare wide-eyed as those two words pulsed through her mind and pierced to the very core of her being. A dull ringing was the only thing she could hear, deaf to everything besides the pain of yesterday. Then Ruko spoke again:

"_Ue dotizeph mota…_"

Luka blanched. No… that was… she couldn't possibly mean…

"When the silver wind blows…" Ruko translated.

Luka stood petrified as the shadow took a few more steps.

"…_doviomana cero ansa…"_

Ruko's slow, deliberate walk continued.

"…and the red beast howls…"

She stopped scant inches from Luka's face. The pink-haired woman only stared, her face a pale mask of disbelief.

"…_Tu'a eto."_

She leaned in close and whispered:

"…You're finished."

"NO!"

With a scream a wave of energy pulsed outward, sending Ruko tumbling away. She nimbly back-flipped and sprung off one hand to regain her footing near the corner where she first entered. Glancing up, her brow furrowed.

Luka's eyes glinted in fury. Her face was contorted into an expression of pure anger.

"YOU'RE LYING!" she screamed again, another wave of energy accompanied her outburst. "IT'S NOT HER! IT CAN'T BE HER! YOU'RE A LIAR!"

The room shook with the force of Luka's words. The windows vibrated and the floor rumbled as the energy coming from each word split the air.

Ruko frowned and shouted back. "Hey! What did I say about violence? You can throw a hissy fit if you want but it's not going to change anything!"

"HAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Luka loosed a sound like a charging bull and cleared the distance to Ruko in the blink of an eye. Gathering energy in her fist she threw a punch with enough force to powder granite.

The blow never connected. Ruko twisted backwards, arching her back and springing to the side off of one hand. From her position near the ground, she coiled her elbows and leveled a kick at Luka's head.

Luka caught her leg and twisted. Ruko was forced to roll with the momentum and spun around just in time to see Luka's shin headed straight for her face.

She barely got her arms up in time before a blast of Vocal energy sent her flying backwards to crash into the wall upside down. Pieces of plaster and chunks of wood fell out of the wall as she slumped to floor.

Luka gave her no reprieve as she leapt forward to deliver another kick. Ruko rolled to the side and regained her balance on one knee as Luka's attack smashed another hole in the wall.

With a scowl Ruko climbed back to her feet. She cracked her neck and knuckles, sizing up her opponent. Luka snarled at her.

"Geez, you're no joke" said Ruko, massaging her forearm where Luka's leg had impacted it. "Haku wasn't kidding when she said you were tough."

"DON'T YOU DARE USE HER NAME!" screamed Luka as she once again sprang forward. Ruko parried a series of punches and leapt away. With a shadowy effluence and a low wail of contrabass strings she summoned a burst of energy.

The air around her warped and bent and her physical image began to melt away entirely until one couldn't even tell she had been standing there in the first place.

Luka's eyes went wide as her opponent vanished. They narrowed again almost instantly. It didn't matter if she was invisible, her vocal energy wasn't. She took a breath and closed her eyes, when they opened again, a bright pink glow radiated from them.

It came as quite a shock when her vocal vision revealed absolutely nothing.

An invisible fist sunk itself into Luka's abdomen. Her eyes bulged as a gasp of air was forced out of her lungs. She jumped backwards.

Ruko materialized a few feet away from her, rubbing her hand and wincing.

"Jesus lady, what are your abs made out of, flippin' concrete or something?" she said as she inspected her bruised hand.

"HAAAAAAA!" Miku let out a battle cry as she jumped up behind Ruko, her fist clenched and glowing brightly.

Ruko sidestepped and grabbed Miku's forearm, tugging her forward into a waiting elbow. The blow slammed into Miku's cheekbone and snapped her head back. With a swift spin Ruko went low and swept Miku's legs out from under her. As the young girl went down, Ruko twisted and followed, gripping Miku's shoulders and pile-driving her the rest of the way into the floor.

The blue-haired girl went down hard, slamming face-first into the thankfully soft carpet. The impact nevertheless left her dazed, her head spinning and the edges of her vision blurring out.

Ruko spun and brought her elbow down again aiming this time for the back of Miku's neck, intent on snapping her spinal column.

A shimmering sheet of light caught the blow, glowing and flashing with golden luminescence. A spear of similar brilliance came down at Ruko from above, and she was forced to roll out of the way to avoid being skewered.

"Geez Piggy" said Rin, pulling her hand out of the floor. "What the hell did you do to this clown to make her so pissed off?" She looked at Luka. "Yo, Pink side of the moon, what's up with Debbie Darko over here?"

Luka's only response was to level a shoulder charge directly at Ruko's recovering figure, with a growl she drove her upper body straight into the woman's midsection, picking her up entirely off the ground and driving her backwards to slam through what remained of the director's desk.

"Not a friend, I'm guessing" said Len, appearing next to his sister and leaning down to check on Miku.

Ruko managed to disentangle herself from Luka and half rolled, half stumbled backwards to rest against the far wall. She breathed heavily, her clothing torn in several places and a fresh cut visible under her red eye. Wiping some blood off her face she straightened up.

"Annoying kids are coming out of the walls, it seems" she said, surveying the four opponents that now stood opposite her.

"Yeah, keep talking" said Rin crossing her arms. "This kid will kick your ass, ya' stupid U-Con."

Ruko scowled. "Big talk coming from a shrimp" she replied. Rin glared at her. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not one of those unofficially contracted imbeciles. There's a difference between- augh!"

She yelped in surprise when she was forced to cut her sentence short as Luka picked up half of the ruined desk and propelled it like a shot-put directly through the office wall. Ruko had to dive completely to the side to avoid being pulverized.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" shouted Rin as she leapt off of one of Len's shining platforms and came down like a bird of prey.

"Gah, screw this!" shouted Ruko. In an instant she vanished from sight again. Rin blinked in confusion as her target disappeared completely.

A fist connected with her jaw in a vicious uppercut, sending her reeling backwards. An invisible foot followed up with a thrust kick to the midsection, sending the small girl flying backwards.

"Rin!" yelled Len, watching his sister's flight path in dismay he looked frantically around for the source of the blow, but another unseen punch drove itself into his abdomen. He gasped and wheezed, but had no time to recover before he was lifted off the ground and thrown bodily across the room to land atop his sister. The pair grunted in pain as they collapsed in a pile of limbs.

"Now that the trash is taken out…" said Ruko, materializing once again, "maybe we can get back to-"

She avoided a broken jaw only by virtue of lightning-fast reflex. Luka's punch made an audible 'pompf' of displaced air as her fist expelled a blast of concussive force. Ruko dropped to the floor, Luka's arm brushing a few stray strands of hair on the top of her head.

Ruko threw a punch of her own directly into Luka's exposed midsection. She grunted as the blow connected full force.

Ruko had only a split second to realize her mistake before Luka capitalized. A pink flash signaled a burst of vocal energy absorbing the force of Ruko's attack. With a war cry she redirected it up her torso and through her arms. Bringing her hands together in a double hammerfist, Luka released the energy of Ruko's punch straight down between the woman's shoulder blades.

The shadow's knees buckled as she slammed into the floor, knocking the wind out of her. She threw all of her strength into her arms to throw herself to the side, avoiding Luka's knee caving her skull in by mere inches.

Ruko wheezed and blinked out of sight again as Luka leapt after her, moving out of the way of a punch that shattered the floor beneath them. The force of the blow cracked a support beam in half, sending a cascade of debris flooding into the offices below. Both fighters were forced to jump away to avoid falling through.

Ruko's image bled back into existence on the other side of the room as Luka fell into a fighting stance in front of the far windows.

Both parties eyed each other as they breathed heavily. Ruko snarled. This was _not_ the plan. She had severely underestimated the trouble that the three teenagers would be capable of causing. She flicked her eyes left and right, noting with dissatisfaction that the twins were getting back to their feet and even the blue-haired one had already managed to struggle to one knee, glaring at her with venom in her eyes as she massaged a rapidly growing bruise on her face.

She needed to level the playing field, and she needed to do it quickly. She didn't doubt that the three teens alone would be no match for her without Luka as a constant threat, and she was also reasonably sure that Luka wouldn't abandon them.

Knowing this she concluded that her best bet was to separate them. If she could get Luka out of the picture for a few precious moments, she could take care of the riff-raff and then face Luka by herself.

She scowled. It wasn't a perfect plan. Even if she could get Luka by herself she was rapidly losing confidence in her ability to capture her alone. The woman was a machine. Her movements were perfect, not an ounce of energy going to waste. Ruko was loath to admit it, but she was most likely going to need help to bring her in.

Unfortunately she had neither the luxury of backup nor time, and she needed a quick solution, however unfavorable it might be in the short term.

For her part Luka stood steadfast, her eyes blazing. Her jaws ground together as her fists clenched and unclenched in rage. Her shoulders shook, and yet every taut inch of her being remained poised to pounce at any moment.

"Listen, Megurine, we can still settle this peacefully" said Ruko. "I'm willing to stop fighting right now if you agree to meet with-"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Luka before that name could be spoken again. She seethed. It wasn't true. It _couldn't _be true. She couldn't bring herself to believe it. Everything that had happened, the quarantines, the relocations, it couldn't be _her_ who was responsible for it. Anyone but her, anyone but the one she betrayed.

So she ignored it, choosing instead to let herself be consumed in the moment of fury. The woman was the one spouting lies, and Luka could make them stop if she destroyed her.

"Fine" said Ruko, sinking back into a battle stance. "Nothing wrong with the hard way."

She vanished again, the light bending apart and back together as she disappeared.

Luka crouched down further, taking a cautionary step backwards. Her glowing eyes scanned the room, but saw nothing. She gritted her teeth. This wasn't good. Somehow the woman was able to hide not only her physical appearance, but her vocal energy signature as well. She faced a grim truth in that she might as well have been blind.

She caught a twitch of movement to her right and reflexively threw her arm out, sending a blast of energy directly into Ruko's face as she came in low.

…Or at least she _thought _she had. Her eyes widened as the blast passed directly through and blew a sizeable chunk out of the wall several feet away from the twins, sending them tumbling back to the floor with the sheer force of the blow.

The false image of Ruko dissolved into nothing as the blast passed through, the ghostly copy shimmering out of existence with the hint of a smirk.

Luka realized her mistake a split second too late. Even as the actual Ruko re-appeared and speared her in the side, carrying her backwards, Luka recognized that she had been duped.

She didn't need to look that know that there was a window directly behind her. As Ruko drove her backwards, all Luka could do was brace for impact.

The glass panel shattered as Ruko drove Luka's body through it. As two fighters soared out into the cool night air, Ruko grabbed one edge of the window's frame, preventing herself from following the pink-haired woman. There was split second where Ruko's triumphant gaze met Luka's one of wide-eyed shock, and then the Vocaloid master fell, plummeting to the glistening street below amidst a hail of broken glass.

Ruko wasn't about to waste time. She knew that such a fall wouldn't be enough to kill Luka, or even keep her off her feet for more than a few precious seconds. Hauling herself back inside she spun to the right just in time to block a punch from a very angry Miku. At the same time she sensed the twins coming up behind her and grabbed the blue-haired teen's wrist, twisting it around and sending her away with a blast of energy.

She ducked just in time to avoid one of Rin's spearing punches, the golden shine around the girl's fist catching the fabric of Ruko's clothing at the shoulder and making a shallow tear.

Ruko threw her elbow backwards into Rin's gut but was blocked by a shimmering wall of Len's energy. Blinking invisible, she rolled underneath the barrier and came up directly in front of the male twin, becoming visible again just as she delivered a blast of energy straight to his chest that sent him stumbling backwards to fall through the gaping hole in the floor.

"Len!" shouted Rin, coming in from behind. Ruko sidestepped her charge, and with a push Rin was sent after her brother, plummeting down into an office cubicle where she crashed through a desk, plowing through a collection of file folders and sending their contents fluttering everywhere.

A flash of light flickered in the corner of her eye and she ducked and rolled to avoid a barrage of energy bolts from Miku.

"Watch it, kid!" said Ruko. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to throw things indoors?"

"Shove it, jerkwad!" yelled Miku, her hands pulsing with a bright blue glow. She loosed another salvo of blasts at Ruko, who strafed around the perimeter of the office, a series of small explosions following her as Miku's attack tore apart the room.

Ducking behind the half of the desk that hadn't been thrown through the wall, Ruko shimmered out of existence again and sprinted out from behind her cover, which burst apart in a cloud of shrapnel and wood fragments as Miku continued her relentless assault.

"Dammit stay still!" shouted Miku, growling in frustration as she lost sight of her target. Her strategy wasn't working. Ruko was too fast to hit, and the added benefit of being able to hide herself in shadows made her impossible to pin down. She knew that any second she was going to be accosted by a bunch of crap she couldn't see and therefore couldn't dodge.

Thinking quickly, Miku backed into the corner. At least by putting her back to two walls she could reduce the number of angles that Ruko could attack her from.

Her logic proved to have one flaw, however. Even though Ruko could only attack her from the front, Miku still couldn't see her, a fact which frustrated her to no end.

Her natural ability to see vocal energy had always been something she could rely on. Somehow Ruko was able to nullify that. It was an infuriating sensation. But no matter how closely she looked or how hard she squinted it didn't seem to make any difference.

"Gah! What is with you?!" she shouted to the deceptively empty room. "Why can't I see you?"

Ruko wasn't about to speak and give away her position. Producing a knife from a pocket strapped to her thigh, she moved to end things quickly. With deadly precision she sprinted forward. Just one quick shot to the jugular was all it would take.

It was naught but luck that saved Miku from an untimely demise. As Ruko swept towards her target her foot caught on an errant piece of debris and she stumbled. The jolt broke her illusion and her image flickered into view for a split second.

Miku dove out of the way as the knife plunged into the wall where her neck had been, missing her by inches. She fell backwards, realizing with a spark of panic how close she had come to being skewered.

"W-what the hell…" she stammered, scrambling backwards. "You tried to kill me…"

"Brilliant deduction" said Ruko coldly as she yanked the knife out of the wall. She turned to face Miku and her red eye glinted with a murderous intent. "My boss told me to bring in your friend Luka, she didn't say anything about the rest of you. Now hold still."

Miku's eyes widened as Ruko once again began to stalk her. The knife glinted maliciously before it went invisible along with the one holding it.

A strange feeling blossomed in Miku's chest. It felt hot and frantic, like a million pinpricks stabbing at her chest. It gripped her heart in iron jaws and squeezed so that her breaths came short and fast and her palms began to sweat.

With a sudden burst of understanding Miku suddenly realized the gravity of what they were doing. Tossing her head back and forth, she glanced fearfully around her. Her gaze fell on the hole in the floor where the twins had fallen, and then on the shattered window that Luka had been thrown through.

Her hands began to shake as a sense of panic overtook her. What was she doing here? This was crazy! She was just a kid, not some secret agent. What was she doing breaking into a government building, stealing national secrets, fighting assassins? She could die!

"N-no!" she suddenly felt herself shouting as she scrambled to her feet and backed up, finally coming to rest with her back against the wooden wall. "Don't come any closer!"

She felt ashamed of herself for saying it, but she couldn't think of anything but that knife plunging into her throat.

With a twinge of regret she remembered what Luka had said to her about trust, and she realized that she had failed to uphold that trust. Luka had placed her faith in her. Miku had assured her time and again that she knew what she was doing, and now she was about to get herself killed.

Sensing movement in front of her, Miku instinctively leapt to the side, throwing an errant energy blast behind her as she fell more than dodged. The blast flew in a sporadic arc and shattered another one of the windows, raining its piece down to the street below.

Ruko shimmered back into view, a scowl on her face. "Listen kid, your heart is admirable but you've gotta face facts. There's nowhere for you to run. You're just prolonging the inevitable. Now hold still and let me get it over with."

Clawing her way to her feet Miku lunged for the door to the office, but in her panic tripped and stumbled, crashing instead into the wall. She braced herself, spinning around to face her attacker. The bottom dropped out of her stomach as she realized she had worked herself into a corner.

"_Listen to me"_

The barest hint of moisture gathered in the corner of her eyes as the words of her mentor replayed themselves in her head.

"_We_ are _going to save her"_

With a pang of regret she realized that Gumi would never find out what had happened to her. She imagined her best friend, cold and alone in some dark alley, wondering why Miku had never come for her.

"_You've got to have a little faith, though"_

Faith. The word taunted her. She had stressed so much over having faith in Gumi, when it turned out her faith in herself was the thing that was lacking.

"_She's stronger than that. _You're_ stronger than that. What would she say if your positions were reversed?"_

Gumi never would have gotten into this position in the first place. She would have realized how stupid the plan was from the beginning, and she would have found a better way to do things. She would have done the smart thing and planned, rather than rushing in on barely more than a wing and a prayer.

"_You can do this._ We_ can do this. You want to protect your friends, I know that"_

Too late now. Her purpose, however righteous, hadn't been enough to save her. She had talked and blustered about saving her friends, about how she would die if that's what it took. Now it was actually going to happen, and she hadn't been able to save anyone.

Ruko cloaked herself and leapt forward.

Miku screwed her eyes shut as her end came.

"_But sometimes you have to have a little faith that your friends don't need protecting"_

The walkie started ringing.

Miku's eyes flew open.

Suddenly the world was moving in slow motion. Her gaze snapped down to her pocket, which was emitting an ear-splitting cacophonous wail.

To Miku it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard in her life.

She realized three things in the blink of an eye. One, Gumi was somehow not only safe, but had managed to find a way to contact her. Two, she really needed to answer that phone call, and three…

There was absolutely, positively no way in hell that some freaky invisible lady was going to kill her before she got to talk to her best friend again.

Several things happened very fast.

Miku executed the first technique that popped into her head. As if it were automatic, the simple melody for producing an All Splendor's Eve light orb came and went through the fingertips of her left hand, sending a single glowing mote to zip out in front of her.

The same melody echoed again an instant later, this time with the strength of an entire orchestra behind it as the energy necessary for thousands of the tiny floating orbs seemed to jump to her command.

The massive surge flooded into her right hand, causing it to glow a brilliant blue as the sheer power threatened to spill over from its volume.

With a guttural roar, Miku thrust her palm forward. The blazing light went like a torch in front of her. The distortion disguising Ruko's knife shattered, quickly followed by the rest of the illusion as Miku's beacon burned away the shadows.

With her left hand Miku grabbed the blade of the knife, directing it away from her face. The sharp edge sliced into her palm and splash of blood painted the steel red, but if she could feel the pain she didn't show it. She screwed her eyes shut and looked away.

Ruko's face bore a split second expression of confusion as the light in Miku's palm connected with the single mote of light hovering in the air, mere inches from her glowing red eye. Her mouth formed a tiny 'o' of surprise.

Then she went blind.

With a flash like a nuclear explosion the atomic firefly blossomed to life in the middle of the director's office, birthing an artificial star directly into Ruko's face.

With an ear-splitting screech Ruko fell backwards, clawing at her eyes as the light burned away her sight. She fell backwards, stumbling and scraping at the walls as every overloaded nerves screamed at her.

The walkie finished its first ring.

By the start of the second Miku was already halfway across the room, her bloodied hand clenched into a fist and her face a mask of desperate anger.

She loosed another war cry as she drew back and sunk her fist as deeply into Ruko's abdomen as she could manage. The force lifted the shadowy woman completely off of her feet as a pitiful, strangled sound escaped from between her lips. She coughed once.

Miku's second blow came directly into her jaw, snapping her head to the side as a single tooth dislodged itself from her gums. A few droplets of blood splattered on the walls.

Ruko dropped to her knees as Miku leapt into the air and flipped entirely over the woman. Coming down on her right foot she drove her left heel directly into Ruko's left kidney.

The woman tried to cry out in pain as she stumbled forwards, but the only sound that her empty lungs produced was a pitiful wheeze.

The walkie rang a third time.

Kicking off again with her right foot, Miku backflipped, caught herself on Ruko's shoulder, and allowed her momentum to carry her the rest of the way over her opponent, coming to rest directly in front of her.

Ruko threw a wild punch forward which Miku caught. Twisting the woman's arm, Miku countered with a blow of her own across Ruko's cheek. The force pushed her back, but Miku yanked her back by her wrist and delivered a second, third, and fourth blow, following it up with palm to the chest that sent Ruko stumbling backwards to bump into the empty window frame that Luka had flown through.

As her hands caught the edges of the frame, she looked down. Her eyes widened as she realized where she was. With a horrified expression she raised her head, only to see Miku charging directly for her, eyes glowing brightly and her hands doing the same.

Her scream mingled with the fourth ring of the walkie as Miku planted both palms directly into Ruko's chest, expelling the largest burst of vocal energy she could produce. With a concussive blast that blew out the rest of the intact windows Ruko was sent rocketing out into the evening sky, her wails of fear trailing behind her.

Miku answered the walkie on its fifth ring.

~V~

"GUMI!?" came Miku's frantic voice over the console. "Hello!? Are you there!? Say something!"

Gumi stood with her mouth agape. She couldn't believe it. It was too good to be true. Her best friend, alive and well.

"Miku…" she breathed, as if talking too loudly might break the connection.

Back in Clonderwell, Miku sank slowly to her knees, the walkie clutched tightly to the side of her head. It had been quiet, it had been timid, but it had been there. Gumi was alive.

Tears began to well up in her eyes as a smile slowly broke out across her face.

"Oh man…" she managed, the biggest sense of relief she had ever felt in her life washing over her. "I can't tell you how long I've waited to hear your voice again."

Gumi nearly choked as she squeaked out a barely audible:

"Ditto."

She shook her head and spoke louder. "Miku, is that really you? Are you really there?"

"I sure as hell hope so" she replied. "After what I just went through, it would be a real bummer if I turned out to be dead after all."

"D-dead!?" cried Gumi.

"Don't worry about it" said Miku, with a slightly giddy chuckle as the adrenaline ran its course through her system. "It took a lot of screaming and a really convincing copy of the sun, but I'm alright. I don't have a lot of time to chat, though. There's an angry living shadow that I just sent through a window that's probably going to want to rip my eyeballs out of my head when she gets back up here. What I really want to know is if _you're _alright."

"I'm…" Gumi cast a sideways glance at Kaito, who smiled gently at her. "I'm doing pretty good, actually" she said, smiling herself. "Everything's been so weird since last week, I've met so many people, and I've traveled so far…" she giggled. "I even blew some things up and broke into a military base."

Miku blinked. "Wait, what? You did what?"

"Don't worry about it" Gumi said with a chuckle of her own. "It took a family restaurant and a superhero who talks like a crazy person but I'm just fine."

A few moments of silence followed by "are you sure I've got the right number? I could have sworn that my best friend was a paranoid worrywart when I left."

"Well, maybe I thought it was time to start worrying less and doing more" she said. "Sometimes you just have to do something stupid before you can change."

"Yeah? So the genius decided to be stupid? How'd you figure that one?"

Gumi smiled. "It wasn't too hard. My best friend was the perfect role model."

Miku laughed in spite of herself. She glanced around at the destroyed office. "Yeah, well, somehow I feel like I've outdone myself this time…"

Her expression turned serious as she focused back on Gumi. "But seriously though. Luka and I are starting to find some really messed up stuff. All that crap you were saying about this being more than just a temporary problem or whatever? I uh… I…"

She licked her dry lips.

"I think you might have been on to something."

Gumi frowned. "What do you mean?"

"This lady that attacked me? Aside from making herself invisible and saying a bunch of stuff to Luka that made her go ballistic, she spouted a bunch of garbage about some sort of organization that was controlling the government or whatever. I thought she was crazy, but now… I'm not so sure anymore…"

Unseen by Gumi, Kaito's eyes widened by a slight margin at the mention of a woman "making herself invisible", and even more when Miku spoke something about the government being controlled. Slowly his hand moved towards a button on one of the keyboards.

"I don't know what's really going on, but I know that I'm coming to get you. Where are you?"

"It's pretty far out of the way of where we planned to meet up. I did quite a bit of traveling. You can find me in a little town called-"

The line went dead.

Miku rattled the phone and pressed it to her ear again. "Hello? Gumi? I didn't hear you, what did you say?"

There was no response.

"Gumi!? Gumi! Answer me! Damn it not again!"

Miku cursed loudly. With a frustrated growl she glared at the walkie, now stained by the blood still flowing out of the knife wound on her hand. She had been so close. What cosmic force wanted so badly to prevent her from seeing Gumi again?

She tried to call back, but the line remained completely silent. She cursed again.

She was about to try a third time when a furious shout reached her ears from the street below. In the rush of the last several minutes she had nearly forgotten that her mentor had been blasted out of a window as well.

Rushing over to one of the shattered windows she looked down and frowned.

There seemed to be a lot more than just two people down there…

~V~

Gumi stopped abruptly as the line cut.

"Miku?" she said, a slight hint of panic rising in her voice. "Miku?! Oh God no…" she started to hyperventilate.

"Calm yourself, Miss Megpoid" said Kaito, standing by the large console. "That was me."

Gumi looked at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing?! Get her back! I have to tell her where I am!"

Kaito merely smiled.

"I'm not joking!" shouted Gumi, stomping her foot. "I need to tell her and then get out of here!"

The sergeant's reply came tone that sounded completely innocuous, but it nonetheless sent an icy dagger straight through Gumi's heart.

"Get out?" he said, his eyes glinting. "I'm terribly sorry if I gave you the wrong impression."

His expression darkened ever so slightly.

"I'm afraid you can't leave."

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

"…And that's how I single-handedly saved an entire country from going bankrupt!" finished Mad with a chuckle. "I never did find out what the minister did with that watermelon though…"

Much as she had for the past three hours, Uta didn't respond aside from an absolutely exhausted-sounding groan.

"I know" said Mad, nodding his head. "I couldn't believe he just ran off with it either."

Uta attempted a facepalm but found that she couldn't be troubled to raise her arm that high. She opted instead to let both appendages continue dangling uselessly at her sides.

"Please, Mad, for all of our sakes enough with the tall tales" pleaded Roger, walking alongside his daughter. "I didn't think it was possible for your embellishments to get more ridiculous. I will sure as hell never make that assumption again…"

"I thought it was kind of charming" said Sarah, walking on her daughter's other side, managing a small smile. "I can hardly believe all of the fantastic things you used to get up to."

"And you shouldn't" said Roger with a roll of his eyes. "Because none of them are true."

"Aww come on, Rock" said Mad, elbowing him in the side. "You know they're true."

Roger gave him a sardonic look.

"Ok, _mostly_ true" conceded Mad. "Uta likes them, right Uta?"

Uta's gaze was at least twice as deadpan as her fathers.

"Alright fine" grumbled Mad. "Guess I'm just shooting in the dark here."

Uta's naturally snarky attitude tried desperately to respond with "It's no better during the day", but she found that she just didn't care enough to bother. Well, that or she was so exhausted that she couldn't muster the necessary energy. When she thought about it, the second scenario was far more likely. Whatever, it wasn't as good as her usual zingers anyways.

After their run in with the police back at the house the group of four, suddenly lacking any better course of action than to follow Mad to Soundsmith Port as well as a being without a car, had come to the less-than-appealing conclusion that they were going to have to walk.

They were all miserable excluding Mad, whose normal air of boundless lunacy seemed to make him immune to any sort of sadness. The past week had been spent hopping from town to town, laying low to avoid any sort of trouble with the authorities who were undoubtedly looking for them quite actively.

It had been pretty exciting at first. After Uta had recovered from the initial shock of almost being shot she had to admit that the whole thing had been pretty badass. Would she choose to do it again? Hell no, but the memories were good.

The excitement had faded quickly, however, when Uta had come to realize exactly what being on the run meant. Shady motels, sparse meals, and only having one extra set of clothes that she'd hurriedly grabbed from her room before they left had rapidly become a less-than-stellar way to travel, and Uta longed for the day when she could sleep in a bed that didn't smell like the motel failed to wash their sheets between guests.

Wherever they were headed they couldn't get there fast enough, at least for Uta's tastes.

The problem with this was that Soundsmith just so happened to be approximately two-hundred miles away from their hometown, making the daunting journey a truly awful prospect to consider.

They had been walking for almost a week. Uta had always considered herself to be pretty athletic, and she wasn't averse to the idea of a long-distance stroll but…

If she had to spend one more day listening to Mad talk about all the times he had 'single-handedly' done this or that she was literally going to murder someone.

Around half an hour before, the group had walked into a city. Uta hadn't bothered to read the sign, nor did she really care what it said. All she knew was that it was raining, and the only thing she had to look forward to besides Mad's insufferable rambling was the prospect of somehow crossing over the range of mountains directly in front of them without being picked up by the military or dropping dead from exertion.

When she considered both options, she honestly couldn't say which she preferred more at the moment.

She lethargically tilted her head skyward. Yep, this rain was getting really old. Her gaze traveled to the side to scan up and down the black faces of darkened buildings and offices, the only relief from the monotony being the streetlights scattered every several dozen yards. Uta sighed. She really hated the city.

It wasn't really the city's fault. They had just met under unsavory circumstances was all.

"Look, not that hearing about your fake-ass stories about whatever isn't completely riveting, but how much further do we have to go?" she finally asked.

"What's the matter" said Mad teasingly leaning in front of Roger to look at Uta. "Is baby getting tired?"

Uta's glare made no secret of the fact that Mad was very close to losing one or more of his vital organs.

"Er… I mean… It's just over those mountains there and then a straight shot to Soundsmith and APPEND home base."

"You still haven't told us anything about this 'APPEND' group you belong to" said Roger. "I'm starting to think we might just be heading for a dead end here."

Mad put a hand to his chest, feigning offense. "Honestly, Rock I'm hurt! Here I am putting my own safety on the line to ensure that of you and your family, and you think I'm lying? I'm wounded, man. Don't you trust me?"

"Not as far as I can throw you" replied Roger without hesitation. "Face it Mad, you haven't exactly given me a whole lot to be trusting about."

Mad rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. You're being unfair. Name one time that I jerked you around, just one!"

"How about a week ago when you showed up at my house and forced me and my family out of our own home by giving the police reason to believe that my daughter broke out of jail?"

"Other than that" said Mad. "Recent events don't count."

"Alright cut the crap, Madra" said Roger, stopping in the middle of the street. "You've barely told us what the hell is going on aside from a story about the puppet man being back and you being part of some shady resistance that I'm starting to suspect doesn't actually exist."

"Listen, Rock…"

"No! Don't 'listen, Rock' me! My family could be in danger here! But so far the only one that's put them in any danger is you! Why the hell should I trust you?"

Mad sighed. "Look, I know you're really stressed right now and I know that we're all really tired, but you have to believe me when I tell you that I'm really trying to keep you guys safe!"

He gave Roger a pleading look.

"Come on, man! I'm being real with you here! There are things going on in this country that would make your head spin, and I promise that Ember and I will tell you everything when we get to Soundsmith, but for now you just gotta trust me!"

Roger glared at him, scanning his face for any sign of dishonesty. Finally, he huffed and crossed his arms. "Tch, fine. But I swear to God, Madra, I don't want anything happening to my family or so help me…"

Mad gave a signature grin. "Now _that_ I think I can do. We're almost home free. The military presence is way smaller east of the mountains over there. I can't think of anything that could happen to put you guys in any sort of danger once we're past them, scout's honor!"

Suddenly a woman fell from the sky.

****************************Several Seconds Before…*****************************

Luka caught Ruko's smug gaze as she was shoved out into the air eight stories above a concrete landing.

It quickly disappeared from view, however, as gravity took over. Twisting about in the air, Luka looked down to see the ground approaching at an alarming rate. Taking a deep breath, she pivoted and angled herself down.

With a powerful, resonating bass she summoned a surge of vocal energy into her legs and braced for impact.

When she landed, a bright flash of light followed by a blast of thunder split the air. The instant her feet touched the ground every bit of the impact force was absorbed in a pink flash, a tangible aura warped around her, shimmered up her body, and then expanded outwards in a concussive wave that shattered the sidewalk beneath her and caused every window on the first floor of the DVA to explode inwards, raining shards of glass into the reception area. The disgruntled secretary had thankfully gone home for the evening.

Luka dropped to one knee, the last remaining bit of residual force pushing her down. She glanced up.

Four people were sprawled out in front of her, the blast having knocked them all down.

"Christ! Did anyone get the license plate on that truck?" said Mad, sitting up and rubbing his head. "I swear if we weren't on the run I'd call the police!"

"Your concern is noted, dearie, but I don't think that was a truck" said Sarah, steadying herself with one hand as she woozily surveyed the damage.

"Mad you have the absolute worst timing on everything you say" remarked Roger as her rolled off of Mad's lap.

Uta laid on the wet concrete, simply staring up at the sky as the water soaked into her clothing. She sighed. "Yep… par for the course…"

"Seriously, though, what the hell just happened. It felt like…" he trailed off, looking up from his sitting position on the ground.

Framed by the pale light of a miraculously un-shattered streetlamp, a towering shadow with glowing pink eyes looked down at him.

"Well…" he said matter-of-factly, "That's something you don't see every day."

The shadow suddenly rushed forward and bent down, her face coming into view bearing a terrified expression.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry!" said Luka, her anger fading away to be replaced with a growing panic in the wake of her explosive landing. She offered Mad a hand "I almost hit you! Are all of you ok?"

"Yeah, we're just peachy" said Mad, grasping Luka's offered grip. "Never been bet- whoa!"

Mad jumped slightly as he felt a jolt from Luka's surging vocal energy as it rushed through his palm. He fell back to the ground where he sat stunned, looking at his hand and then back at Luka.

"Yowza" he said, eyeing her with surprise. "That's quite a lot of vocal power you've got."

Luka withdrew her hand and backed up a step. She didn't know what was going on, but she had felt the jolt too. She looked around quickly. She had to get back up there and get to Miku and the twins before something happened to them, and the last thing she needed was someone asking her questions. These people needed to leave, it wasn't safe for them here. She bit her bottom lip in apprehension before she decided on a course of action.

Flaring her powers to life again she raised a hand and pushed a surge of power through it, a quintet of strings playing a vibrating chord in her ears. Her eyes glowed brightly.

"You shouldn't be here" she said as menacingly as she could. "You need to leave, _now_!"

"Whoa lady cool it!" said Mad, waving his hands in front of him. "We aren't trying to start anything! We're just passing through!"

"Turn around and go" said Luka. "It's not safe here."

"Ok, ok. No need to get angry" said Mad, interposing himself between Luka and the Utanes. "We're going, see? Don't shoot!"

A scream drew her attention to the window up above. Her eyes shrank to pinpricks as she realized it was Miku's.

A hand grabbed onto hers, and she whipped her head around to see Mad gripping her glowing palm tightly.

"Gotcha" he said with a grin.

All at once the energy disappeared out of Luka's arm, the strings cutting off abruptly as they were sucked away. Mad drew his other arm back, which suddenly glowed brilliantly with Luka's own energy and threw a devastating haymaker right at her face.

Reacting on instinct, Luka immediately threw her other arm up to meet the blow, expelling another burst of energy that crashed against Mad's.

A wave of force expanded out from where their fists met, pushing them apart.

Mad recovered first, skidding to a stop and pushing himself forward again, Luka rose to meet him.

Accompanied by a desperate, muffled yell, the sun came out again.

Both Luka and Mad stopped short, shielding their eyes as the entire street was suddenly bathed in blinding blue light. Both of them leapt back apart. The phenomenon only lasted all of two seconds before it disappeared, plunging the city back into darkness.

"What the heck was that?" exclaimed Uta, rubbing at her eyes.

Luka blinked rapidly, gritting her teeth. She knew exactly what it was. And what it meant was that Miku was either doing something incredibly stupid or, and it seemed the more likely scenario in this case, she was in danger. Luka grit her teeth. Any dreams of getting in and out of the DVA without incident burned away with the atomic firefly. Everyone for miles would have been able to see that. They needed to clear out, and soon.

Mad growled, trying to clear his vision. "Sheesh. Who pulled the pin on the world's biggest flash grenade?" Shaking his head, he took a step towards Luka to continue their fight.

"Wait!" cried Luka, holding up a hand. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have threatened you. I mean you no harm. I don't want to fight you."

"Yeah, sure" said Mad. "I'm not falling for that one."

"I mean it!" said Luka, dispelling her powers completely. Her eyes ceased glowing. "I don't want to start anything, but you're here at a very bad time! Please, it isn't safe!" She cast another worried glance up at the eighth story. She couldn't afford to waste any more time. Miku could be in terrible danger.

"Yeah? And why is that?" asked Mad, crossing his arms.

"There's a woman here. A very dangerous woman. She pushed me out of that window and she's still up there with my student and her two friends! I can't stay down here any longer! Miku might be-"

A bloodcurdling scream stopped her mid-sentence. As one all five individuals standing on the street turned and looked up at the broken windows high above the ground.

Luka spun around just in time to see a small blue flash, followed by Ruko soaring like a rocket straight out of the building. Her jaw dropped.

Such was the dark-haired woman's momentum that she was propelled in a long arc entirely across the street, where she crashed into a pole with a flag on the end of it. Wildly she grabbed onto the fabric of the flag, but there was a loud ripping noise and the cloth gave way to her weight. She fell, still screaming, another two stories before she smashed through the awning over a window two stories up. She finally came crashing down on top of a parked car, caving the roof in.

Luka watched in disbelief as the would-be assassin lay still for several moments, stunned, then seemed to come to her senses and suddenly clutched at her face, writhing around in pain. She rolled from side to side, spewing incoherent nonsense. Suddenly, with a particularly violent twitch of agony she overbalanced and fell off the top of the car.

She cursed loudly and pushed herself up to one knee, hissing in pain. Turning around she glared at Luka, one hand clutched over her red eye. She wore a slightly manic expression, half terror, half uncontainable rage.

The shadow took one step forward and stopped, her face spasming as she seethed at the Vocaloid master.

"You…" she practically frothed, her words coming out as a venomous snarl. "I can't… I hate… I… flippin' hell!" she finally screamed, punching one hand completely through the body of the car she had landed on.

Her right eye was clenched tightly shut, the skin around it an angry red. Tears of pain stained her cheeks as her eyes continued to burn. Her mouth was stained with blood, a steady stream dripping onto the ground beneath her. Half of her face was quickly beginning to swell up and bruise.

"So… I take it that would be the 'dangerous lady', then?" inquired Mad. "I gotta be honest with ya', not what I was picturing."

Ruko's remaining functional eye went wide at the sound of Mad's voice. Half limping, half stumbling she shambled out from behind the car into his full view.

Her face twitched again as she registered Mad's appearance. A full body jerk shot through her as her anger peaked again.

"You!" she spat, her anger as well as her swelling jaw making her almost incoherent. "Of all the insufferable... _now_ of all times… flippin' _screw_ me…" she babbled to herself, the sight of Mad apparently driving what little composure she had left completely out the window… so to speak.

For his part Mad stared in confusion for but a second before his face brightened in recognition. His face broke into a wide grin.

"Ruko!" he said, smirking. "I'll be damned. What's the matter, sweet cheeks, couldn't get enough of meeeeaaaaaguuuhhh! Sweet Jesus what happened to your face!?" he shouted in horror, taking a step back.

"You know her?!" said Luka, rounding on him.

"You could say that" he said, eyeing the beaten and bloodied woman with disgust. "To be fair she was way hotter the last time we met."

Ruko growled something unintelligible that sounded very close to 'eviscerate you with a pickaxe' and took several steps forward before Luka stood in her path, arms crossed. The shadow came up short, seething and cursing a constant stream of profanity under her breath. She cast quick glances between Luka, Mad, and the windows that she had been blown out of. Finally she clutched at her face and screamed in frustration.

She couldn't do it. In her condition there was no possible chance.

"DAMN YOU MEGURINE!" she howled, one finger pointed imperiously at the Vocaloid master. "I swear to flippin' God I will find you again and make you and that snot-nosed brat regret the day you were born!"

"And what makes you think that I am going to let you leave?" said Luka darkly, sinking low into a battle stance, her eyes sparking to a pink brilliance once again.

Ruko's face twisted into a momentary expression of fear before with one last growl, she vanished.

Luka held her stance for several tense moments, but when it became clear that Ruko was not coming back she slowly let herself droop. With an exhausted sigh she slumped before her head snapped back up and her eyes went wide. "Miku!" she said in a strangled voice.

Spinning around again, she looked up and saw, to her immense relief, her protégé standing in the frame of a shattered window, her eyes surveying the wreckage below. Weakly she smiled and sank to her knees with a relieved sigh.

Up on the eighth story, Miku looked down at the street with a grim expression. She was glad to see her mentor was safe, but a dark shadow hung over her head. Something had cut that call off, she knew it, and while Gumi said she was safe, Miku wasn't so sure.

Something had changed in the air. She could feel it. Looking out over the rain-soaked city, she narrowed her eyes. Something was coming. Something big. What had transpired that night was just the tip of the iceberg. There were forces darker than any they had imagined at work in the world, and Miku had a sinking feeling that the shadow woman wouldn't be the last person who tried to kill her before all of this was over.

A feeling of dread settled in her stomach. Despite what she said, it seemed Luka's past wasn't quite as dead as she claimed it to be. Looking down at her mentor, who was currently smiling up at her in relief, she swallowed a lump in her throat.

It was high time that Luka told her just what she was running from.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Teto's first impression of the room was that it was a lot cozier than she had imagined.

Funny, she had expected a lion's den to be a bit more… evil-looking. Perhaps a few piles of bones in the corner, maybe a bloodstain here or there. What she saw now was almost pleasant by comparison.

The floor was made of a rich, polished oak, the boards gleaming slightly in the light of a majestic fireplace. Teto couldn't fathom why someone would light a fireplace at this time of year, but she couldn't deny that the flickering light lent the room a homey appeal.

A number of massive bookshelves lined the walls, stuffed to bursting with all manner of philosophical manuscripts, scientific theses, collections of poetry and a variety of books whose titles read in strange and esoteric long-dead languages.

Standing in front of one of these shelves was the lion himself. He idly stroked at one half of his perfectly-groomed goatee while perusing a large, leather-bound volume the subject of which was anyone's guess. Teto certainly wasn't about to ask.

She stood in silence for a few moments during which Rossegar appeared not to notice their presence, Tei awkwardly gripping her upper arm in a completely unnecessary attempt to keep her from running off. Teto couldn't have moved an inch if for no other reason than the fear that rooted her to the floor.

After several more seconds passed and the Doctor had not looked up from his book, Tei tentatively cleared her throat.

"A-ahem… sir-"

"I am well aware of your presence thank you Tei" spoke the man suddenly, still not looking up from his book. "Give me a moment to finish this, if you would."

He offered no more words and it was clear that Tei did not expect any. She shut her mouth immediately. Teto wondered why the grip on her arm had tightened.

All at once the Doctor apparently finished with what he was reading because he snapped the book shut with a sense of finality. Taking a deep breath through his nostrils he turned to face the two women, smiling gently.

"Ah, Orwell" he said, placing the book down on a solidly built desk. "Truly a man ahead of his time. His words ring especially true in this day and age, wouldn't you agree?"

It took a moment for Teto to realize that he was speaking to her.

"Oh! I… Umm… I…."

"Come now, Miss Kasane" said Rossegar, circling around the desk. "No need to be shy. There's nothing to be scared or embarrassed about. What goes on in here will be completely confidential. Mr. Orwell's works aside, of course" he chuckled slightly. "I assure you that Big Brother has better things to do than watch us."

Despite the reassuring tone of his voice, his words did absolutely nothing to assuage Teto's fears. Quite the opposite, really. Confidentiality was one of the things she was worried most about. Big Brother or no the fact of the matter was that there was nobody watching to keep her safe.

The thought unnerved her even more than she already was.

"W-what are you going to do with me?" she asked, unable to prevent a small nervous waver from creeping its way into her voice. She had no doubt that at any moment the two individuals in the room would strap her to a table or some other far more nefarious device.

Rossegar, rather than grinning maliciously and slowly approaching her with a scalpel, however, only looked confused

"I'm… afraid I don't follow…" he said, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Go on" said Teto, trying to put on a brave face. "Do whatever experiments you're going to do. I'm ready! I can take it!" She clenched her jaw defiantly, trying her best to imitate what Uta would do were she in this situation.

Still the Doctor did not move, his curious expression only persisting.

"I'm afraid you have me at a loss…" said the Doctor, ruffling his well-kempt mane of greying hair. "You're speaking nonsense young lady."

Now it was Teto's turn to be confused. "But… but then why…" she stuttered, still not sure whether or not she was about to be dissected. "Why did you send her to get me?" she asked, pointing at Tei. "Why did you have her hurt L-Lily? Why did you make her scare me and pretend she was going to throw me down the stairs?"

Teto's eyes shone with barely repressed tears as she spoke. It took every ounce of her courage not to just curl up in a ball and cry again. Surely this man was mocking her. Surely he knew exactly what had happened. Surely it had been him who was responsible for it all!

Rather than laugh and reveal that yes, it was him who had caused her so much pain, however, the Doctor's eyes slowly narrowed in anger. what confused Teto, though, was that his ire was directed not at her… but at Tei.

"I see…" he breathed.

In three long strides he had crossed the room and had grabbed Tei roughly by the arm. Her other hand lost its grip on Teto's arm as she was shoved backwards.

Tei's eyes shone with fear as Rossegar bore down on her, his own gaze an angry glare.

"That's a very interesting thing that Miss Kasane had to say just now, wouldn't you agree?" he said, breathing into Tei's face. "A very _curious_ thing. Why it almost sounds like you were trying to _hide_ those things from me."

"S-she's lying!" said Tei fearfully, all of her maliciousness suddenly gone in the face of the Doctor's own.

"Oh no" said the Doctor, reaching his other arm up to grasp Tei's face. "Oh no no no. I don't think she is. There's only one liar here, my dear. And I think we both know what happens to liars…"

Tei didn't even try to avoid the Doctor's palm as it slapped her viciously across the face. The blow sent her reeling and she stumbled slightly.

"What do you think this girl has been through, hm?" he almost shouted. "Her mother dead, her home destroyed, pulled away from everything she knew and loved? Has she not been through enough?!"

Rossegar released his grip on Tei's arm, shoving her back. "Stupid, impulsive child" he spat. "Your frivolous hostility towards my former assistant is both misplaced and unwarranted, and your conflict with her only serves to jeopardize my current endeavors."

He ran a hand over his face in exasperation. "I am extremely disappointed in you, Tei."

Tei looked like she had been slapped again at those words.

"Doctor, I-" she tried to say.

"Silence!" he yelled suddenly. "We will discuss this later. Go wait by the door while I speak with our guest."

With a whimper, Tei sullenly turned and walked back to the door, where she sat down on her haunches and hugged her knees to herself.

Rossegar glared for a moment longer before his expression softened and he turned to face Teto, who had watched the entire spectacle unfold with a growing sense of both horror and an even greater confusion.

She jumped when the Doctor approached and gently took one of her hands. He slowly led her to a high-backed chair whose style matched the desk. He helped her to sit, and then took a place of his own in front of his desk. He did not sit down as he spoke.

"I hope my words with my assistant are indication enough of my feelings on this matter" he said seriously, looking her straight in the eyes. "Rest assured, Miss Kasane. I am not interested in these "experiments" you speak of. Not as you are envisioning them, and certainly not until you're well enough for me to conduct them safely, at the least. I brought you here to have a civilized discussion, nothing more. I do apologize for my assistant's…" He cast a withering glance at Tei, who shrunk backwards under his scrutiny, "Overzealous behavior. I hope you weren't hurt in any way."

Teto's mind boggled. This man was being awfully nice to her, and it was beginning to scare her almost as much Tei had. She cast a glance at Tei, shivering by the door, and looked back to Rossegar. "I… wha…. but… Lily said…"

"Do not get the wrong idea" he said. "I am not a monster, despite what my former associate would have you believe. Granted, there is a fair amount of bad blood between the two of us, and I would be lying if I said that there are not several things I would have chosen to do differently."

He tweaked his moustache with one hand, crossing the other over his midsection.

"However, while I understand Miss Lily's feelings I must disagree with her overall assessment of me. I am no mad scientist. I am simply a man in pursuit of knowledge, nothing more."

Teto honestly didn't know what to say. She was far more inclined to believe Lily's words than the Doctor's, but still…

"I realize that you must be terribly confused" said Rossegar, folding his arms across his chest. "Such an abrupt shift of lifestyle would catch anyone off-guard, let alone a young woman such as yourself."

Teto was still processing. "Y-you mean you're not going to c-cut me open?" she said in a small voice.

Rossegar looked surprised. "Goodness no!" he exclaimed. "What on earth gave you that idea?"

Teto fidgeted slightly. She remembered Lily's words. it had been something to the effect of "dissect you and every single person you've ever met just to satisfy his twisted curiosity."

The Doctor gave her a knowing look. "Ah… I see that Lily has had more of an influence on you than I thought…"

He leaned forward and looked her in the eye. A feline smile glinted in the firelight.

"Miss Kasane you have to realize that people, in their anger, are prone to exaggeration. Come now, what is it that she told you that has you so uptight? Let me put those fears to rest, hm?"

Teto hesitated, then told him.

A deep laugh echoed through the room as Rossegar chuckled heartily.

"My, my" he said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Well I can certainly see how that could do it, ahem."

He cleared his throat. "Miss Kasane, I give you my word. There will be no dissection of any sort as long as I am in charge here. Not now, not ever."

That allayed some of her concerns, but not by much.

"Now, granted there will be some "experimentation", as you put it, but it will be conducted under the proper conditions and only in the spirit of scientific inquiry."

That put her considerably less at ease, and it showed.

"Now now, my dear" he said. "There is no need to be so scared."

He gently clasped her hands in his own. He spoke softer, almost beseechingly. "You have a gift, young lady. A wonderful gift. Did you know that in the entire history of the world there has never been another Vocaloid with your level of natural ability?"

Teto looked skeptical.

"I'm serious" he said earnestly. I could count the number of Vocaloids who could match even a third of your potential on one hand, and that's being generous."

She met his gaze tentatively.

"...Really?" she squeaked.

The Doctor smiled. "I swear it. Your abilities are more than simply remarkable, they are downright astounding. Please, Miss Kasane. Please… Teto."

She jolted slightly as he called her by her first name. By the door, Tei's ear twitched.

"It would be a crime, nothing short of a sin, to not share your gift with the world. What do you say, my dear? Will you help me give your gift to the world?"

Teto was once again at a loss for words. The entire conversation had taken a direction that she had not expected it to go. With the way she had pictured the Doctor in her head she had anticipated a fiendish, evil brute who would glady flay a layer of two of her flesh as soon as look at her but now…

She cast another glance at the earnest expression on the man's face.

Now… seeing him up close and hearing the passion with which he spoke about her abilities her seemed dedicated, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and maybe… just maybe…

He seemed almost kind.

"O-ok…" she responded softly. A part of her mind questioned what she was saying, but the Doctor seemed so sincere.

His grin widened. "Excellent" he said, clapping his hands together once and straightening up. "I promise you Miss Kasane, you will not regret your decision."

He indicated that she should stand, and she did so.

"I am half tempted to begin right now, but I think that's presuming too much. I believe it would be best to wait until you are fully recovered, hm?" Patience is a virtue, as they say. For now, rest is the best medicine."

he circled around his desk and took a seat. Picking up a pen, he began writing in a folder, leaving Teto standing awkwardly.

After several moments he looked up.

"Oh, you are free to leave, Miss Kasane. I trust you can find your own way back?"

She nodded slightly and turned to go. Tei was still positioned by the door, hugging her knees and brooding with a dark expression. As Teto approached, Rossegar spoke to her.

"Tei, get the door for her, won't you?" he said, his voice sharp.

Tei stood and grasped the handle with the enthusiasm of someone who had just been ordered to saw off their own legs. As Teto passed by Tei glared dagger at her, making it clear that she had just earned herself an enemy.

As Teto passed through the open door Tei made to follow her, but the Doctor spoke again.

"I do not recall saying that _you_ could leave, Tei." His words carried a malicious edge to them.

With one last venomous glance at Teto, Tei turned around and pulled the door shut. Alone in the gloomy hallway, Teto turned and walked away. Several steps later, she broke into as fast of a run as she could manage.

Back inside the office, Tei turned to face the desk with a trepidatious shudder that went unnoticed by the Doctor.

Slowly, Rossegar put down his pen. He looked up and fixed his assistant with a hard stare.

"Why is it that you must infuriate me so?" he asked.

"Sir, I-"

"Do not speak" he said. Tei clapped her mouth shut immediately. "I believe that I made it clear that the girl is a very important part of my continuing research. I will not tolerate any harm coming to her before I have accomplished that which I desire. I have told you this multiple times, and yet you continue to disobey me."

He stood up from his desk suddenly, his chair sliding backwards along the floor with a scrape of wood against wood. Tei shrunk away from his anger.

"I am very fond of the initiative you take in most matters, Tei, but your accursed jealousy gets the better of you far too easily. I will not have the power of the Gods wrenched from my grasp due to the inadequacies of mortals."

He strode up in front of her and looked down. Tei's gaze was directed at the floor.

"Look at me" he growled. Shaking slightly, Tei raised her head. "I have managed to undo the damage you have caused today only because of that girl's naivety. I cannot afford any more of your outbursts, do I make myself clear?"

Tei nodded slowly, her breaths coming in short fearful pants.

"Very well. I shall grant you one more opportunity. Keep an eye on her. I expect you to be discrete in your monitoring. Do not get involved with Lily any more than you already have. The girl sees her as a friend, and I can use that to my advantage. Above all else you are not to injure either of them in any way, shape or form. Do I make myself clear?"

Again Tei nodded. Rossegar turned around.

"Now get out of my sight" he said, his face in a scowl. "Call a medical team for Lily and ensure that she makes a full recovery." He held up a hand to silence the protest that she was about to voice. "I do not care about your petty vendetta. She is integral to this experiment's success, and I will not have her harmed. Do as I say."

Tei's mouth worked soundlessly for several moments before, with a grimace, she turned and left the office.

As the door clicked shut and he was left alone, Rossegar let out a deep sigh and placed his hands on the edge of his desk. He stared into the fireplace, the flames dancing in his eyes.

"Neru…" he whispered. "I will have you back, my angel. Your divine strength shall be mine once more. It is only a matter of time…"

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

Well there it is! Chapter 20 in all of its glory! If it was half as wild a ride for you as it was for me, I'll consider that a success. But don't settle down yet. There's still one chapter left before the conclusion of the second arc of the story, and it's coming to you before the end of the month. Yes, you heard correctly! November is national novel writing month, and that means 50,000 words by the 30th. I'm already over 15k, and well on my way to the finish line. You can expect to see at least chapter 21 before the month is out.

With that said, you may want to prepare yourself. As you may have noticed, this chapter was a fair bit darker than previous installments. This is because it was a turning point in the story. Miku is finally starting to realize the gravity of the situation she is in, and that might mean a lot more than she originally thought.

If you're wondering what happened to Ann, don't worry! You haven't seen the last of the feisty restaurant owner or her brother. After all, we still don't know what it was those two were arguing about in the kitchen, do we?

Anywho, I suppose you'll all be relieved to know that the lessons in Lucentian return this chapter. Please, please, hold your applause. I know you were all heartbroken last time but it's alright now.

So, without further ado…

LESSON #7: THE _SIGAS ALGRIMO_

You probably noticed that Ruko said a few things in this chapter that had a profound effect on Luka. So you don't have to scroll back up, here they are again:

_Ue dotizeph mota, doviomana cero ansa, tu'a eto._

Which translates to:

When the silver wind blows, and the red beast howls, you're finished.

Without giving away anything about the plot, I will say that this phrase has significant meaning which will be explored later on. What it pertains to, however, it something that probably won't be, at least in a grammatical sense, so I'll explain it here.

During their time as bounty hunters Luka and Haku were known by the moniker the "_Sigas algrimo."_ As you have probably come to expect from me by now, this is a compound Lucentian phrase. If we were to break it up into its component parts it would looks something like this:

_Dosima tagas alta grimo._

As we learned two chapters ago, _sima_ and _taga_ mean sister and friend, respectively, and when combined they make the familial recognition of a relation not through blood, namely, _siga_, or sister-friend. Luka and Haku are not related by blood, so this makes sense.

The other two words, _alta_ and _grimo_, hold a much more significant meaning. In English, there is no word that means what these two words are together. _Alta_ translates to hero, while _grimo_ translates to grim (no surprise there). When combined, they form _algrimo_, which translates most accurately to heroically-grim.

This is the name of a concept that our society doesn't have a term for. _Algrimo_ is the concept of the grim realism of what a hero must accomplish. It is a hero's burden. Our comic-book superheroes all have this. Batman lost his parents, Superman doesn't have a homeworld, every single one of the X-men has something about them that's pretty terrible in one way or another. It's the idea that with great power comes great responsibility, and that that responsibility sometimes requires a type of strength of character beyond the desire to do good.

Luka and Haku were highly-revered enough to have this title applied to them permanently. To the general public, they embodied that strength of character that the concept of _algrimo_ describes, labeling them as the "heroically-grim sister friends", if one was to translate.

I hope that described it in a bit more detail without losing too much in translation.

On to the music!

"A Momentary Trip" – In the words of the song's author: "The feeling of escaping isn't actually all that great, is it?" This song exemplifies the feeling that Gumi's been experiencing just rushing forward since the relocations started. She's barely had a moment's rest since it began, but now that she's in Kaito's clutches, has she really escaped anything at all?

Link to subbed youtube video: watch?v=iOcw6GmQCe4&list=PL247310A1981A5A9E

"Freely Tomorrow" – Now, I know this song sounds really happy, but the lyrics are pretty close to what I was going for when the walkie rang and Miku realized that sometimes she may have to fight for her life if she wants to succeed. Disregarding any romantic implications, this is what she is feeling towards Gumi. A passion that she almost lost is back, and with that confidence she is able to fight. On a side note, this song is by Mitchie M, and if you haven't checked out his Vocaloid videos go do it now. Seriously, this guy is awesomesauce.

Link to unsubbed youtube video: watch?v=KmvydnVTriE&list=PL247310A1981A5A9E

That's it for this chapter! As always, Due to restrictions on Fanfiction dot net I cannot post full website URLs in this story. All original video links are preceded by "nicovideo" and all youtube videos are preceded by "youtube". Happy listening!

Well, it's going to be a whirlwind these next few weeks. I hope I'm ready for it. I know I say it all the time, but reviews are much appreciated. I love getting feedback on my work. How can I improve? How have I improved already? Anything you are willing to tell me will be accepted with open arms. I can't know how you feel unless you tell me.

This is AnarchySong, signing off!


	21. When the Past Catches Up

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…but the story is totally mine.

***PLEASE READ! IMPORTANT!***

I encourage all of my readers to take a look at the end notes for this chapter as I have some important news regarding the coming months. Do not, however, read them before you have finished the chapter itself as they contain MASSIVE SPOILERS regarding an important event in this chapter and you would feel just awful if you peeked.

The full title of this chapter is "Of Shadows and Silence. When the Past Catches Up."

Happy reading!

**********************************Chapter 21***********************************

Hurried footsteps echoed off the stone walls of the sewer tunnel as the ragtag group of Vocaloids plus two made their way through the dark towards Rin and Len's hideout. The constant sound of dripping and running water could be heard as the rain continued unabated. The shouts of men and the blare of sirens could be heard in the distance, as the authorities converged on the mess they had left at the DVA.

"Geez, we barely got out of there by the skin of our teeth" said Mad, grinning in spite of the situation. "Where's this place you're taking us to again?"

"We never even agreed to take you, buddy" said Rin, limping slightly from her fall through the floor and subsequent crash. "We didn't even have a choice in the matter. Who even are you people? And where the heck did you come from?"

"Ah, a magician never reveals his secrets" he said, winking. "I'm afraid I can't say where-"

"We're on the run from the police. We've been walking for a week" Uta said, cutting him off. "Me and the idiot are Vocaloids, and these are my parents. We're very grateful for your help."

Mad scowled and crossed his arms in a huff. "Everyone's out to ruin my fun, I tell ya'" he grumbled.

"That's because it's only fun for you" said Roger. "The rest of us normal people are too busy figuring out how to not get ourselves caught and locked up."

"You've gotta learn to stop and smell the roses sometimes, Rock" said Mad, clasped his hands behind his head. He inhaled deeply through his nose. "Ah, that's what I'm talking about."

"That's a sewer, numbskull" said Uta. "It doesn't smell like roses, but to be fair it doesn't smell half as bad as you."

Rin let out a cackle. "Okay, you, I like."

"Everyone's a critic" mumbled Mad, crossing his arms again.

"Not to be rude" interjected Roger, "but where exactly are we headed?"

"The south side of the city" said Len, wincing a bit as he cradled a sprained wrist from his own tumble through the floor. "It's where our home is. The military shouldn't be able to find us there, and I'm hoping that shadow lady as well."

"I wouldn't count on it" said Luka from the back of the group. "She managed to find me, and that's more than I can say about anyone in the last twelve years, present company excluded" she said, referring to Miku, who said nothing.

"We need to be on our guard" she continued. "I have the feeling that we haven't seen the last of her."

"Come on, Pinky, I'd say we're clear of that spaz for at least a while. After what Piggy did to her I'm surprised she could even walk anymore. Great job, by the way" said Rin, turning around to look at Miku. "Didn't think you had it in ya'."

Still Miku said nothing.

"Uh… hello? Piggy? Trying to give you a compliment here. This probably isn't going to happen again so you should take advantage of it while you can."

"Huh? Wha-? Oh, yeah, thanks."

Both Rin and Luka raised an eyebrow at that.

"Uh… okaaaaaaay…" said Rin, squinting at her.

"Miku, what is it?" asked Luka, eyeing her student with concern. "You've barely spoken a word. I would have thought you would be a little more… animated about what's happened."

Miku fidgeted, biting her lip pensively. However she broke the news, this wasn't going to be a pleasant discussion.

"Luka… Gumi called me."

The reaction was predictable. Several seconds of silence passed during which Luka looked at her like she was trying to assure herself that Miku had indeed said what she thought she had. When, after a few moments, it became apparent that the whole thing wasn't an incredibly poorly thought out joke, Luka replied.

"Miku... are you serious? H-how? When?!" she asked, her eyes wide.

Slowly, hesitantly, Miku nodded. "Yeah… yeah it was her. It happened back in the DVA, after you got thrown out the window. Me and the twins tried to fight off that shadow lady and we had some… trouble." Here she gestured to Len's wrist and Rin's limp. "She tried to…"

Miku gulped, the sudden image of the assassin leaping for her throat flitting through her mind. "She tried to… k-kill me." The words were difficult for her to speak because it was difficult for her to remember, and harder still for her to admit. "She almost did…"

She slowly brought her left hand out from where it had been hidden behind her back. A long, gruesome-looking gash ran horizontally across her palm from where she had grabbed the knife blade.

With a gasp Luka took a step forward, but Miku drew the hand back in close to her chest.

"Look, i-it's fine, alright? I-I'm fine. That's not important." She took a deep breath. "I kind of… froze up. It was a mistake. If Gumi hadn't called when she did…"

Miku took a deep breath. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. The point is she called me. She told me a bunch of stuff that I didn't understand, then when I tried to ask her where she was… the line got cut."

Miku had a conflicted look on her face. "I think that somehow… whoever that lady that attacked us was… that maybe that had something to do with it…"

The rest of the group was staring at her.

"Look, I know it sounds crazy, ok? I just… I don't know…" she sighed. "I don't think Gumi was in danger… but I don't really think she was safe either. It's hard to explain."

She locked eyes with her mentor. "I remembered something Gumi said a while ago. About how there had to be something else going on with the government or whatever. I think she was right."

Miku swallowed a lump in her throat. She gaze directly at Luka. "That stuff that lady said to you… why did it make you so angry? What does Haku have to do with any of this?"

Luka paled slightly as Miku mentioned Haku's name. "Miku…" she said carefully. "That was just…"

"Why did you let her get to you so badly?" said Miku, her voice gaining strength as she spoke. "That's not like you. You're the most level-headed person I've ever met. Why did you freak out like that? I've never seen you that pissed before."

"That's not…" stuttered Luka, averting her eyes. "It's not anything that… I mean… It isn't important."

"No!" shouted Miku suddenly, walking up to her teacher and forcing Luka to look at her. "You don't get to do that again! Every time I ask you about Haku you either end up dodging the question or changing the subject, or something happens that gets in the way. The only times you _have_ talked to me about it, it's been vague facts or only about you! Whatever she was talking about, that lady sure knew something that set you off, and I want to know what!"

Miku jabbed a finger into Luka's chest. "You were massively freaked out back there. Don't try to deny it. You lecture me all the time about having faith and trusting your friends and all of that jazz but you don't practice what you preach! I'm here, I'm willing to listen, I'm your friend, aren't I? What are you so afraid of!?"

"Really, Miku, it's nothing…" said Luka with a nervous smile. "I was just… uh…"

"It sure as hell didn't sound like nothing!" Miku pressed, frowning into her mentor's face. "It sounded to me like whatever organization that lady was working for, it was Haku who's-"

"No!" said Luka suddenly, her head snapping up to meet Miku's frown with an angry glare. "That's not true! It can't be!" Her hand leapt to her mouth an instant after she said it, her eyes wide.

The pair stared at each other silently for a moment. The rest of group stood by awkwardly, not sure how to react to the scene happening in front of them.

"Luka…" said Mad… scratching his chin. "Luka… why do I feel like I know that name from somewhere? Wait a second…"

He laughed, clapping his hands together. "Luka? As in _the_ Luka? Luka Megurine? One of the students of the world-renowned Gakupo Kamui?"

Both women turned to face him wearing shocked expressions. Uta sighed.

"Oh my God…" she said, running a hand over her face. "It is literally not possible for you to have a worse sense of timing…"

Mad ignored her. With a childlike glee in his eyes he shuffled forward until his was standing in front of Luka.

"Oh geez, oh man… this is so unexpected…" he said, looking for all the world like some star-struck teenage fangirl. "I mean, wow. You're like… a legend. How about an autograph? I know I have a piece of paper here somewhere…"

"Yo! I don't know if you noticed, but we're sort of in the middle of something here!" said Miku, gawking at him.

"Yeah, by the sound of things it was going swimmingly too."

Miku bit her lip. "Yeah, well, no one asked you."

"No, but if you _did_ ask me, perhaps I might be able to shed a little light on your situation…" he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"What are you saying…?" asked Luka, narrowing her eyes at him. "Do you mean to tell me that you know why that woman attacked us?"

Mad tilted his head to one side, then the other. "Well… maybe not why she seemed so interested in _you_ in particular, but I do know who she is."

"From the sound of it she was one of your old girlfriends" said Uta, crossing her arms. "But I guess loyalty doesn't mean much when your girl's just had her face smashed in, huh?"

"Hey, I have a very strict 'no missing teeth' policy when it comes to women, okay?" said Mad defensively. "Besides, it wasn't really a date… per se…"

It was Roger's turn to speak up. "Why does none of this surprise me…"

Mad ignored him. "It was more of a… date-slash-assassination attempt."

Everyone looked at him, all cocking an eyebrow simultaneously.

"She tried to kill me too, okay?" he said. "I'll be damned if it wasn't the sexiest fight I've ever had though. Hoo-ie."

Roger rolled his eyes. "Previous dates-slash-assassination attempts aside, though…"

Mad blushed. "Er, right. Her name's Ruko Yokune, and she's one of the most effective information brokers you'll ever come across."

He turned to Luka. "I've actually run into her on a number of occasions. The work that her group does and the ambitions of my organization tend to… intersect from time to time…"

Luka eyed him warily. "And those ambitions would be… what exactly?"

"Don't get your hopes up" said Uta. "We've been traveling with him for a week and we still barely know anything."

"Hey, I can't just go blabbing sensitive information!" said Mad indignantly. "The things that APPEND does are very important to the future of this county!"

"Uh-huh" said Roger, nonplussed. "You mean the organization whose headquarters you've revealed the location of numerous times?"

Mad opened his mouth to retort but ultimately came up with nothing. "Ok, you make a fair point." He thought about it for a moment. "Alright, I've decided that none of you are spies. But I'm still not going to say anything here. It's too risky."

"Please, sir" said Luka. "What do you know about the group that's after us?"

"Actually, I was kind of hoping to ask you the same thing" said Mad, his face becoming serious. "Whatever the reasoning, they don't send Ruko out for just anything. If she's on your trail then they must be very interested in you. Any idea why that might be?"

Suddenly Luka wasn't as enthusiastic. "I… uh…" she faltered. "I may have a hunch…"

"It's because her old partner wants to talk to her" said Miku, glaring at her mentor. "But she's being too big of a baby to admit it." She pointed at Luka. "Just because you knew someone a long time ago doesn't mean that they aren't different now."

"Miku, it's not like that…" said Luka, averting her eyes.

"You haven't seen her in what, twelve years?" Miku pressed, looking up into Luka's face. "You don't think that maybe she changed a little bit in that time?"

"She wouldn't… she would never…"

"Look, people change, alright? You've gotta accept that. I understand that you don't want your friend to have turned all evil and crap, but you can't beat yourself up over it."

"That's not it" said Luka, a hint of tears beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. "It's not that I can't accept that she might have… changed. I just don't want it to be…" she cringed, clenching her eyes shut.

"Don't want it to be what?" Miku pushed, grabbing her mentor by the shoulders. "True? Because I don't think you get to choose-"

"My fault!" said Luka, a single tear escaping as she opened her eyes to look at Miku. "I don't want it to be my fault!"

The tearful outburst took Miku by surprise. She stepped back, giving her mentor some space to breathe.

"I don't want to be responsible!" Luka said with a stifled sob. "Maybe she's ch-changed…" She forced it out between her teeth. "I can accept that, I think. But what if I'm the one who… who…"

She couldn't finish. The Vocaloid master had to clench her jaw shut to fight back the tears.

For her part Miku was stunned. The gasping, barely-stable mess currently before her was so unlike her mentor's usual collected exterior that she didn't know how to respond. She raised one hand up in a feeble gesture.

"Luka…" she tried lamely.

"No!" said Luka quickly, shying away. She let out a hollow chuckle. "It's stupid, I know… but it was my f-fault that she left in the first place. Who's to say that I didn't drive her to whatever it is that's happening here?"

For once Mad seemed to be at a loss for words as much as Miku. He scratched the back of his head as he let his eyes wander anywhere but onto the two women. Uta likewise averted her gaze and the twins had suddenly found very interesting cracks in the wall to study.

"Hey, come on…" Miku ventured weakly. "That's not… you know…"

"No, Miku I don't know" said Luka, and her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "I haven't known a lot of things for a very long time, and it's too late for it to matter now."

"But…" Miku started, lost her words, then started again. "It doesn't _not_ matter" she said beseechingly. "It happened a long time ago, yeah, but that doesn't mean it's not important."

"That's just it" said Luka. "It _was_ important. It was important when it happened twelve years ago and I didn't do anything about it!"

"But what _did_ you do?" asked Miku, taking a step forward. "What could be so bad that it makes you all…" she stuttered, looking for words, "that it makes you all… whatever _this_ is!?" she gestured wildly at Luka's tear-stained face. "This isn't you. You're not some crybaby who whines when things go wrong! You're… awesome!" You're the strongest fighter in the world!" She frowned. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Luka jumped slightly as Miku suddenly turned angry. The girl stomped forward and jabbed her in the chest. "When did you turn into such a freaking wuss?! What about all that stuff you told me about having faith in your friends and junk!?"

Luka said nothing.

"All those things you said? They kept me alive an hour ago when Shadows McGee tried to stab me in the neck! If trusting your friends is so important then doesn't Haku deserve the same trust you put in me?!"

Luka flinched as if Miku had struck her, but her expression was quickly replaced by a scowl.

"You don't think I trusted her!?" Luka shouted. "I loved her! She was my sister! I trusted her more than anything. That wasn't the problem!"

"Then what was?!" Miku shouted back. "What was so damn important that you can't even function properly now!?"

Luka's eyes were hard. "She should never have trusted me."

"Yeah?" Miku replied getting in Luka's face. "Well what about me? What about the trust I put in you every day? What am I supposed to do if I can't trust you to keep yourself out of Lamesville every time someone mentions your past? If you freak out every time someone brings up your so-called sister then you're no better than the exact thing you're afraid of!"

Luka's eyes widened as her lips thinned in anger at the words 'so-called sister', and for a moment it looked as if she was about to hit Miku. But as the moments passed, the spark of rage in her eyes slowly dulled to a look of sadness. Her features hardened as she fixed her apprentice with a steely expression.

"No better?" she said, her jaw set. "Maybe I'm not."

Teacher and student glared at each other in silence for several tense seconds, Luka grim and melancholy and Miku angry and indignant. Finally, with a flare of her nostrils, Miku broke the standoff.

"Fine" she said, her voice cold as she stared into Luka's face. "If you're going to sit around and mope because you messed up a long time ago fine. Screw you. Be that way. But don't expect me to go along with it."

She leaned in close and jabbed Luka in the chest again. "I don't know who's after us and I don't know why, but what I do know is that they aren't playing around. If you start acting like this you're going to get someone killed."

With that emphatic statement and one last glare Miku tore her eyes away and walked past Luka, leaving the Vocaloid master standing rigidly, staring into the darkness of the tunnel behind them.

A tense silence covered the group like a blanket as Miku stormed off in the direction of the hideout.

"Awkward…" Mad sing-songed. He turned to Luka. "So… about that autograph…"

"We should get back" said Luka, ignoring him. "It's not safe to stay out here right now."

Turning on her heel, she spun around and walked off in the same direction Miku had gone without another word. The rest of the group stood in silence. Uta slapped Mad in the back of the head.

"An autograph, honestly…"

The rest of the trip back to the hideout was a grim journey. No one spoke much, opting to keep quiet in the midst of the icy rift that had suddenly formed between the student and her teacher. Both women walked briskly with their eyes straight ahead, keeping their distance from each other on opposite sides of the tunnel. The rain started to come down harder.

Rounding a final corner, the group came to a sudden stop. The door to the hideout stood open, with no sign of its usual guard. Several shattered signs and pieces of wood lay scattered about the tunnel floor, the result of the portal being forcibly ripped open.

"Oh geez…" said Rin, bolting forward. "That's not good!"

They burst into the large room, looking wildly about for any sign of the hideout's occupants, but came up short when all of them turned out to be safe. They sat around the perimeter of the room, huddled in their own respective holes and dens in an attempt to keep out the cold and wet.

Rin's face darkened to a scowl. "Alright! Who left the door open!?" she yelled to the room at large. "Who's the idiot!?"

The room at large said nothing.

"Rin…" said Len nervously, stepping up beside his sister.

"What?!" she shouted, rounding on him. "One of these numbskulls left the freakin' door-"

He silenced her with a hand over her mouth. His eyes traced the faces all around the room. "Look…"

Rin followed his gaze. Her eyes slowly narrowed and she tensed her shoulders as she realized what he meant.

They weren't huddled, they were cowering. Upon closer inspection, each and every one of the teenagers and children in the room had an expression of terror etched across their faces.

"What? What is it?" said Miku as she walked up beside the diminutive girl. "What's going on?"

"We're not alone, Piggy" Rin said as her eyes darted quickly around the room.

"Wait a second…" said Len, not seeing a particular face. "Where's-"

"Right here, kid" said a disembodied voice.

All of them spun to face the back of the room, where the shadows began to twist and coalesce into a familiar shape.

Slowly, Ruko Yokune stepped out of the darkness, her bloody mouth stretched into an evil grin, and her one good eye possessed of a manic gleam and locked onto Luka.

"_Vitiga!_" A small figure struggled in the assassin's grip, her eyes wide and fearful.

"Yuki!" yelled Len and Luka simultaneously. They both stepped forward.

A flash of steel sliced the air as a knife appeared at the girl's throat. Both of them stopped short.

"Alright" said Ruko, an insane grin plastered over her swollen face. "What do you say we try this again?"

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Gumi Megpoid was having a difficult time understanding what she was hearing.

"W-what did you say?"

In a polite, clipped, tone Kaito repeated himself:

"I cannot allow you to leave."

"But… I-I… you said…" Gumi stammered, her breathing beginning to quicken as the sergeant's words started to sink in.

"I said what, exactly?" asked Kaito, cocking his head to the side. "That we are very much alike? That we are both geniuses? Forgive me but I fail to see how either of those things convey to you that I was going to let you escape."

Gumi's mouth worked soundlessly for a few moments before she actually managed to produce a voice.

"But w-why?" she asked, eyeing him fearfully. "Why would you help me if you're just going to imprison me? Why don't you just t-turn me over and get it done with?"

Kaito looked at her with a curious expression. "Miss Megpoid, what do you take me for?" he asked. "I am no monster. How could I condemn a young girl to such a fate as the one that is awaiting you out there in the world? Have you any idea exactly what has happened to this country over the past months?"

With a snap of his fingers the images on the screens changed, displaying news feeds, emergency broadcasts, and footage from the quarantines and relocations.

"What…?"

Gumi's eyes fell on one screen in particular, which appeared to be showing a helicopter view of a city block. It was chaos. People ran screaming in the streets, soldiers marched with their weapons firing, bodies piled up on the sidewalks, the corpses of those who hadn't been as lucky as her.

She watched, horrified as the image changed to a line of Vocaloids being led into the back of a vehicle. One broke from the group and tried to run, only to be gunned down an instant later.

Yet again the picture switched to a child crying over a body on the ground, her tiny hands covered in blood. The world around her continued to burn.

Switch. People running.

Switch. People screaming.

Switch. People dying.

Gumi watched silently, a look of disbelief on her face as every new image brought some different horror.

"None of this has been shown to the general public, you understand" said Kaito, breaking her out of her stupor. He stood facing the screens, his face neutral. "These are not the kinds of things that air on the nightly news. Much better to keep it under wraps. Out of sight out of mind, as they say."

He sighed deeply.

"People no longer wish to know the truth of things. This country, this _world_ would rather turn a blind eye to the suffering of others than have to face reality."

"W-why are you showing me these things?" asked Gumi shakily, tearing her eyes away from the disturbing images to look at the sergeant.

Kaito was silent for a moment, his expression impassive, before he snapped his fingers again. Immediately the screens went dark.

"Do you know why I joined the military, Miss Megpoid?" he said suddenly, still staring at the blank screens.

Gumi said nothing.

Kaito continued undeterred. "I was born to a very wealthy family. Never once in the time I was being raised was I left wanting for anything. I received the best of the best of everything, food, housing, education, or what have you."

Kaito took his eyes off the screens and turned to face her, still not showing a hint of emotion. "It should come as no surprise that I became a rather arrogant young man. Being told that you are better than those around you for most of your life tends to have that effect."

He sniffed. "It was a lucky thing that my father was a very traditional man. He made the decision to ship me off to military school. I cannot lie and say that I was overly fond of the idea at the time, but looking back I am eternally grateful for it. It was a bit of a shock, at first. I went from having servants at my beck and call to being ordered to do everything myself, but as I grew used to it I came to realize a few things about myself."

A strange look crossed his face as he remembered. "I began to understand that wealth isn't the only measure of a person's greatness. It is rather one's strength of character that truly decides who they are."

He walked back over to the small table holding Gumi's bag and stared at it. "I made a vow, one that I swore never to break. No matter how hard, no matter what the cost, I would do all in my power to ensure that the rest of humanity came to see the world as I saw it. I would not rest until our society began basing our opinions on a person's true strength, rather than on their material wealth."

He turned his head to give Gumi a melancholy look.

"I daresay that I have failed."

There was real pain in the sergeant's eyes as he continued. "I have realized for a number of years now that the human race is rapidly approaching a cliff. A dark, bottomless pit of hatred and evil from which there will be no escape. The willingness with which people have turned their hatred onto Vocaloids over the past months has been all the evidence I need to know that I am right. This world is doomed, Miss Megpoid, hurtling towards a societal collapse that will ultimately be more devastating than any outright war. Without some sort of miracle, it will end."

He gave her a meaningful look.

Gumi gulped audibly, her confusion evident on her face. "And you want m-me… to help you stop it? To stop the world from ending?"

Kaito's expression was icy. "On the contrary, my dear" his eyes narrowed. "I intend to let it."

"What?!" said Gumi, now more confused than ever. "But what about-"

"Do not misunderstand me" said Kaito, cutting her off. "I have no plans to abandon this world entirely. As morally bankrupt and unsalvageable as it has become I do not intend to quit trying. There is still hope, though it now comes on the opposite side of a proverbial baptism by fire."

Gumi gave him a blank look.

"Allow me to explain" he said. "There is no avoiding what's coming. It is as inevitable as it is necessary. The future beyond that, however, is very much changeable. I believe it is no coincidence that I now find myself in a position to influence that future."

Here he hesitated for a moment, as if unsure that he really wanted to tell her what he was about to say. "I… was approached nearly three years ago now by a most peculiar individual. His name was Ritsu Namine, and he came to me with a proposition. He told me that his employer was aware of my plight and felt the same way. He offered me a position in a very specific organization… provided I make available to them certain resources."

The sergeant's gaze hardened. "I accepted almost without question."

He blinked several times, as if steeling himself for his next words. "Everything that has happened, the change in government, the quarantines, the relocations… has been entirely due to our efforts."

Gumi stood stunned for a moment. The air left her lungs in a shocked exhale. All at once, she felt as though she was very small, and locked in a room with a giant.

"I had my… reservations at first" said Kaito, and the pain was back in his eyes. "I knew full well of the possible consequences that could result from our actions. It was the ultimate social experiment. Serve up Vocaloids as a scapegoat to our country's fear, and present them with two choices. Either they would band together and declare that this treatment of their fellows was unacceptable, or they would allow their fear to control them and that scapegoat would burn for their cowardice."

There was rage in the sergeant's face. Gumi shook slightly as he stepped towards her.

"It was a brutal thing to do, and I nearly lost my nerve" he said, coming to stop in front of her. "But there was something that happened, something that changed my mind and assured me that there was still hope."

His gaze softened as he bent down and looked into her eyes.

"You, Miss Megpoid. It was you. Though our world may burn we shall come out on the other side reborn, and I know this because of the things I learned from you. Your anger at the announcement of the quarantines, your sadness and selflessness when the relocations took your family from you and forced you out of your home, I saw these things and knew that as long as people like you existed, there was still hope."

He straightened back up and his expression was sad. "You and I are part of a dying breed, Miss Megpoid, and I sorely wish I did not mean that literally as well as figuratively. It is for this reason that I offer you a choice-"

"If you're not going to let me go…" she interrupted, eyeing him fearfully. "If you're going to k-keep me here… then I know your choice. You want me to join you."

"You are perceptive as always" he said with a smirk. "Yes, I would like you to join us very much. My group is a very specific one, one that would benefit greatly from an intellect and willpower like yours."

Her breath came in shaky, quiet gasps as she contemplated her situation. She was certain beyond doubt that whatever trouble Miku had run into was linked to the man in front of her in some fashion. The 'group' that he claimed to be part of was responsible for the entire Vocaloid crisis, and by the sound of things they didn't intend to stop with just the country. But that wasn't what scared her the most.

One look into the sergeant's eyes told her that he truly believed every word that he spoke, and if there was anything more dangerous than a crazy person, it was a crazy person who believed everything that came out of their own mouths.

Her little quest to contact her friend had suddenly become much bigger than she had thought possible, and she was afraid that it would soon become too big for her to handle, if it wasn't already.

Trying to calm her racing heart, Gumi did her best to stand up straight and look Kaito in the eye, though she still shook all over as she did so.

"A-and if I say no?" she asked.

"Then it would pain me a great deal that such a brilliant young mind never got the opportunity to shine" his tone left none of his meaning to the imagination. Either she would accept, or she would be gone.

"Well… when you put it like that..." she said sheepishly, her gaze falling back to the floor as her voice shook. "How soon can I start?"

A smile flashed across the sergeant's face as she spoke. "Brilliant" he said, rubbing his hands together. "Absolutely brilliant. And in answer to your question, immediately."

He snapped his fingers again and a voice rang through the room. "Yes, sir?" queried MIZKI.

"Kindly erase all of Miss Megpoid's files from our databases" he said, not taking his eyes off her. "I daresay that she will not be needing them anymore."

"As you wish, sir" said the smooth voice. A moment of silence, and then:

"Deletion complete. Is there anything else, sir?"

He did not respond immediately, appearing deep in thought as he stared at Gumi standing in front of him. "Yes…" he said finally. "Yes. I do believe we will need to craft a new identity for her."

A metallic sigh rang through the room. "I'll start bypassing the necessary security channels, sir…"

"See that you do" said Kaito, a small smile beginning to form on his lips. "Now, Miss Megpoid, I do believe we will have to start from the ground up. Both your reputation and your image are far too recognizable at this point. While my influence will almost certainly keep you undetected I think we can agree that it would be best not to tempt fate, hm?"

"You'll need to change your hairstyle, maybe just a slight trim. A little can go a long way when it comes down to it." He circled her slowly, taking in every detail. "A new wardrobe, that's a given. We'll need to get rid of those goggles."

She turned around to glare at him.

"Alright… maybe we'll get some _different_ goggles then" he said, backing up slightly. His face quickly turned serious again. "But above all else…"

He circled back around to her front, crossing his arms. "You'll need a new name."

Gumi slowly brought her gaze up to look into his, and as she did she tried to put all of her anger into one glare. She set her jaw defiantly as Kaito looked down on her with a grin.

"Now now" he said, matching her ire with a cool gaze. "You'll have to get used to me. After all, we'll be working together quite closely from now on Miss…"

He thought about it for a moment, then spoke:

"Sonika. Yes… I think that will do nicely."

The statement brought with it a surprising sense of finality, and Gumi knew that whatever she had gotten herself into, she was now in it for the long haul.

As she glared back into the sergeant's face, still smiling his smug grin, she thought about what this meant for Miku. It had sounded like whoever attacked her had regretted it, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was just the tip of a very large iceberg.

She was loathe to agree with the man currently standing over her, but they were definitely on the edge of something, she just didn't know exactly what.

There was one thing that she was really worried about though:

She _really_ hoped that Miki hadn't gotten herself caught.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

"One more chance, Megurine!" screamed Ruko, a manic glint in her eye as she held Yuki's trembling form at knifepoint. "You get one more chance!"

Luka stood petrified alongside the rest of the group, her heart beating intensely against her ribcage as she took in the scene in front of her.

She could hardly fathom the lengths that this woman was willing to go to to get her attention. The shadowy assailant was all too eager to dole out death to get her point across, and it was beginning to fray Luka's already tense nerves.

It was all too much to take in at once. Breaking into the DVA had been one thing, but what they had found there proved to be something else entirely.

A most curious sensation overtook her. It felt as though everything around her was moving in slow motion. She glanced to her right and saw Miku shouting something, but the words didn't register. She saw everyone through a mass of darkness in the midst of a raging storm, and she was in the middle. She looked down at her hands and found them to be trembling, and at that moment it hit her.

She was frightened.

It wasn't a conclusion that should have taken any amount of thinking to arrive at, and yet it was surprising to her.

She couldn't remember the last time she had been legitimately afraid of anything. Worried, yes. Stressed? Every day. Guilty…

She flinched. There hadn't been a moment in the last twelve years that she wasn't.

And her guilt had found physical form in the woman in front of her, this woman that dredged up her past and insisted that the things she had so desperately tried to forget about still very much remembered her.

She had been running for so long, and it seemed that her past had finally caught up with her.

That was the thought that made her hands shake the hardest.

Everything she had dreaded, the things that had plagued her mind all those nights alone in a house in the middle of the woods, they were true. They were true and it was so much worse than she had ever imagined it could be.

She was done. Out. Finished. _Mi'a alta eto. _There was a limit to the amount of hardship that one person could endure in their life, and she had reached it. She clenched her eyes shut, disgusted in her own weakness.

Miku had warned her. She had said it only minutes ago. _If you start acting like this you're going to get someone killed._ And as though it was prophecy an innocent life now hung by a thread in front of her, a direct result of her inability to cope.

The world around her slowed further, the shouting voices and terrified children hushing themselves. She couldn't bear it any longer. It was too much. Too much. _No better? Maybe I'm not._ She wasn't better, couldn't be better, would never be better. All she was was a pathetic excuse for a friend, someone who let people down when they depended on her.

It would be easier to just shut it out, easier to just ignore it all forever. The world was a terrible place, and it was because of her that it became that way. She didn't want to think about it anymore, didn't want to fight anymore…

...didn't want to be afraid anymore.

She resigned herself to her fate. She would just stop. No matter what she did it only ended up hurting the people around her, so she wouldn't do anything anymore. She would be impassive. She would be silent. She would just... quit.

A sudden vice-like grip on her shoulder jerked her back to reality. She caught the trailing sound of her name as she turned to see who was grabbing her…

A fist smashed itself into her jaw with titanic force, sending her sprawling backwards several feet to crash onto the concrete floor.

She stirred after several seconds, shaking her head to clear it and brought a hand up to her mouth. Her fingers came away with a trickle of blood.

In disbelief she looked up and locked eyes with Miku.

The girl stood rigidly, one arm hanging in front of her and a look of rage plastered across her face.

"Hey!" said Ruko, snarling at Miku. "What do you think you're doing? I need her in one piece!"

"Shut up!" shouted Miku, shooting a glare at her. "You're a nutjob!" She turned her attention back to the stunned Vocaloid master on the ground before her. "And you're pathetic!"

She stalked forward, bending down to grab Luka by the collar, shouting directly into her face. "What the hell are you doing!?" she screamed, unable to contain herself. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

The second fist connected just as hard as the first. Luka didn't even try to stop her.

"I'm standing here shouting your name and you won't even look at me!"

Another blow.

"Pull yourself together!"

Luka's cheek was rapidly being consumed by a swelling bruise.

"Do you even realize what's happening?"

Miku heaved the woman to her feet and grabbed her face with both hands.

"Say something God dammit!"

Luka stared in disbelief into her protege's furious expression. "You… you hit me" she said simply.

Miku dropped her. "Damn straight I did!" she yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at the prone woman. "Ever since I met you you've told me how important it is to have friends, and now that one of them is about to die you don't even care!? No! That's not ok! You don't get to throw all that at me and then not stick to it yourself!"

Miku pointed at Ruko.

"You see her!? Right now she's about to turn an innocent little girl into a pincushion because you're too busy feeling sorry for yourself!"

Miku breathed out slowly.

"Look, I know that you're really cut up about Haku maybe being all evil and stuff, I get that. But you can't just give up and say "screw it" when things get tough! Yuki needs you right now. _I _need you right now! And I'll be damned if I just stand here while you tear yourself to pieces over something that you can still make right!"

A slight hitch made its way into Miku's words.

"You taught me that there are things that are worth protecting, that fighting is more than just fighting when you have a purpose to fight for. I found my purpose, but you've lost yours! You told me once that you fight to save people who forget how important their own reason for living is, but you can't save yourself!"

The girl spread her arms wide, beseechingly.

"You're doing the exact thing that you swore never to do, and I can't let that happen! I fight for my friends and sure, sometimes you've gotta trust that your friends don't need protecting, but you know what!?"

She looked Luka dead in the eyes and shouted.

"Sometimes they do!"

Luka could only stare, her eyes wide in shock to match Miku's own determined stare. The girl's words pierced through something in Luka's mind, parting the veil of fog that had fallen over her. What was she doing, lying there on the ground? Scant meters away an innocent girl's life was in peril and she had been about to just shut it out? Miku's question was valid, what _was_ wrong with her?

"Well!?" Miku said, quirking an eyebrow. Her meaning was clear: _What are you going to do now?_

Luka blanched. A wave of nausea washed over her as she realized how close she'd come to forsaking herself. The look on her face turned to one of disgust as she meekly brought her gaze up to Miku's. Her pupil's eyes were hard, and her gaze did not waver.

A glance between them, as it had before, said more than words could have on their own. A simple truth passed from one to the other, and Luka realized exactly what she had been considering giving up, and exactly why it wasn't worth it.

Slowly, hesitantly, Luka nodded, and that was it. "I-"

"Look" Ruko interrupted, asserting her presence once again with a voice dripping contempt. "As much as I'm sure we all love watching you two air your weird dirty laundry, I think you're forgetting the fact that I'm going to KILL THIS GOD DAMN KID in about two seconds if you don't-"

"SHUT UP!" Luka's voice suddenly rang through the room with authority.

Slowly, deliberately, Luka pulled herself to her feet, brushing her clothes off. "I'm usually a bit more refined in my speech than my apprentice, but in this situation I believe I'll have to agree with her."

Luka looked up at Ruko and her eyes were filled with fire. "You're a nutjob."

Ruko sneered. "Yes, well, you and your snot-nosed apprentice's opinions of me notwithstanding, you seem to be neglecting the position you're in. From where I'm standing, it seems like a pretty flippin' bad idea to insult the person holding the knife."

"Perhaps" said Luka, her gaze hard. "If I wasn't already sure that you don't actually intend to kill her."

Ruko's sneer melted off of her face, dropping into a malicious frown. "Oh no…" she hissed, and the temperature in the room seemed to fall several degrees. "Oh no no no. You do _not_ want to play that game with me right now, Megurine. Whatever you're assuming, whatever you think you know, don't imagine for one flippin' second that I won't bleed her like a stuck pig if I feel so inclined." The edge of the knife pressed ever so slightly harder into Yuki's neck and she whimpered in response.

"Geez, don't piss her off more" Miku said. "She's crazy, remember?"

"Shut up, kid" said Ruko, not taking her eyes off of Luka. "The grown-ups are talking."

"Listen" said Luka, putting her hands out in front of her. "I recognize that tensions are high, but there's no way that-"

"No YOU LISTEN!" Ruko screamed suddenly. "We are not playing by your rules! We're playing by MINE! This isn't a flippin' discussion. It's not a conversation! It's about to be an EXECUTION if you don't make your damn choice!" She yanked Yuki's head back violently by her hair for emphasis. The girl squealed in pain.

Luka clenched her jaw as her teeth ground together in frustration. "If you'd just consider the other options-"

"There are TWO options!" Ruko shouted, silencing her again, a hint of mania making its way into her tone. "You are not grasping the severity of your situation! There is no _option_ that doesn't involve either you coming with me, or this girl's throat flayed open like a gutted fish! Either I win…"

Her grip on the knife tightened, a few miniscule droplets of blood leaking out around the blade. Her one good eye narrowed in cold fury. "Or you lose."

"Please!" Luka said, a note of desperation making its way into her tone. "I'm telling you it doesn't have to be like this! No one needs to get hurt!"

Several seconds of silence, and then...

"Pfeh" Ruko spat. "Pathetic."

A glint of steel, a splash of crimson, and a dull thud.

No time to think, no time to scream, no time to contemplate other options, Luka acted on instinct. The air around her exploded with concussive force, sending Miku and the others sprawling away, and in an instant she was across the room, thrusting an arm forward to spear through Ruko's chest. Her screech of fury caught up with her as her fingers made contact.

It was too late. The assassin's malicious grin bled away from her fingertips and dissolved into nothing. Luka howled in rage as she spun around with tears in her eyes and knelt beside Yuki's prone body.

Blood. So much blood. It stained the floor, the girl's clothes, and as she stared it seeped into Luka's soul. Stuttering to herself in rapid Lucentian, Luka pressed her ear to Yuki's chest, praying, hoping against hope for the faintest sign of life.

"_Oniigasen a napermo…" _she muttered under her breath in gasps, trying everything to staunch the flow of crimson. "_Mi'a lasage Yuki, na'eto itana. Na'eto itana!"_

"Lu...ka?" A sound, faint but recognizable.

Luka's head snapped up to Yuki's face. She watched in disbelief as the girl's eyes fluttered open. Her limbs began to stir and miraculously, she sat up, a flow of blood still issuing from the horrible wound in her throat.

"Yuki… h-how?" Luka said in awe as the girl rubbed her eyes. Then she frowned as a dark chuckle echoed throughout the chamber.

All at once the blood began to dissolve. The gruesome gash on Yuki's neck wavered, shimmered, and then shattered, dissipating into fleeting wisps of shadow as Ruko's illusion unraveled, leaving clean, untouched skin underneath. The laughter stopped.

"Take this as a warning, Megurine. This is the only chance you get. The. Only. Chance. Next time that cut will be flippin' permanent, mark my words. Continue to defy me, and you'll have more to worry about than just the girl."

Ruko shimmered back into visibility on the far side of the room, standing in the open gateway. Her head snapped to the side to look at Miku.

"As for you, kid" she said. Miku growled in response from her place on the ground, gritting her teeth as she recovered from Luka's explosive outburst. "I'll be seeing you again real soon. There's a debt to be paid for what you did to me, and I intend to exact my payment in flesh."

Her eyes darted back onto Luka, holding Yuki's trembling but thankfully alive body. She produced a small device from one of her pockets. Holding it up in front of her, she glared at the Vocaloid master.

"This isn't over. One way or another you _will_ agree to my employer's terms."

As her imaged faded away one final time she pressed a button on the device in her hand.

"Expect me, Legendary Assassin."

_KABOOM!_

A deafening explosion rocked through the foundation of the hideout. The grate at the far end of the room blew apart in a violent shower of concrete and shredded steel. Luka fell to the ground, shielding Yuki with her body.

_KABOOM!_

The western door exploded inwards, shaking the room again and causing a few chunks of the ceiling to dislodge.

_KABOOM!_

A third detonation tore through the road roller on its ramp and blew the sheet metal door to ribbons.

"Shit!" yelled Roger, standing protectively in front of Uta. "What the hell is going on!?"

"I'd say it's pretty obvious, Rock!" Mad yelled back as a series of smaller explosions demolished the concrete support ring holding up the ceiling. "Shit, look out!"

Mad shoulder-tackled the father-daughter pair as a large chunk of cement crashed to the floor. The room filled with the terrified screams of its occupants as large cracks began to form in the walls.

"Crap monkeys!" yelled Rin, turning around in place as her home collapsed around her. "This place isn't gonna hold up!"

"We've got to go!" yelled Len over the sound of several more explosions in the tunnels beyond. "We're gonna get crushed if we stay here!"

Rin turned and looked at him, a desperate look in her eyes. "But… where will we-"

"There's no time!" Len shouted, his eyes beginning to glow slightly. "We have to get everyone out before it's too late!"

With a yell he thrusted his hands up towards the ceiling. Several sheets of brilliant golden luminescence blossomed across its surface, partially supporting the weight of the collapsing structure. Len winced and buckled under the strain.

"Hurry!" he shouted, peeking one glowing eye open as he concentrated. "I can't keep this up forever!"

Rin fidgeted in place, growling in frustration for a moment before finally she clenched her fist in resolution. "Grrr… dang it!" turning to look at the terrified expressions of the children and teens around the perimeter of the room, she shouted as loud as she could manage above the bedlam.

"Everybody get out!" she shouted. "This place is going down! You need to get out now! Run for it!"

At the sound of Rin's declaration the immobilizing fear that had gripped the gathered adolescents seemed to lift for a moment. All at once the group jumped into motion, a mass of bodies crowding towards the exit.

"That means you too!" Rin shouted at Mad and the others.

Uta looked at her. "But what about-"

"We'll be right behind you, go!"

"You don't need to tell me twice" said Mad, ushering the other three swiftly towards the remaining open door. "Thanks, kid!" he yelled back at Len.

"Nngh… don't mention it…" Len said in a strained voice, several beads of sweat running down his face.

"Yo! Piggy and the creature from the pink lagoon!" Rin shouted, turning around. "If you haven't noticed we're about to die! Get out while the gettin's good!"

"Don't get your tangles in a twirl, shortstop, we're coming!" Miku yelled back as her, Luka, and Yuki ran past.

Casting one final pained glance about the crumbling room, Rin bolted for the door herself.

"Len, come on this place is toast!"

"Right behind you Sis…" Len forced out as he backed up towards the one remaining exit. As he reached the frame, his eyes and hands flashed one last time before dimming back to normal.

The shining panels supporting the ceiling flickered and winked out as the power behind them was cut. Almost immediately the cracks doubled, tripled, quadrupled in size as the cement supports bowed under their own crushing weight. With a final clap of stone thunder the room gave up the ghost, the ceiling crashing down and bringing sections of the building above with it.

An explosive wave of air and displaced debris blasted into the pitch-black tunnel, threatening to engulf the twins as they sprinted away from their destroyed home. Just as the flow overtook them the pair threw themselves around a corner. Sprawling across the floor, Len twisted and pushed his uninjured arm out behind them, erecting a golden wall across the entirety of the tunnel.

A powerful gust of wind and a wall of debris plowed into the shimmering barrier, causing it to flash and flicker, filling the cramped space with light.

The barrage lasted only seconds as the pressure dissipated, the blast leveling out to a stagnant cloud of dust and powdered rock. Len's barrier wavered and died, throwing the tunnel into pitch-blackness once again.

A flashlight clicked on in the darkness, casting its beam into the faces of the two adolescents.

"Are you two alright?" Luka's voice floated to their ringing ears.

"Yeah, yeah…" said Rin, stumbling to her feet on her bruised ankle. She winced, the pain now worse from her sprint through the tunnel. "Still in one piece, I guess."

"Can't say the same for our home, though" said Len, pulling himself up using the wall as support.

"Jiminy Christmas…" said Mad from somewhere beyond the light. "I'd say you two really brought the house down but honestly I've been to worse parties."

"Can it, sleezeball" said Uta, elbowing him painfully in the ribs.

Len groaned as his head throbbed from his powerful exertion of Vocal energy. "What about the rest of you? Did everyone make it out ok?"

"_Vitiga!_" shouted Yuki as she bounded into the flashlight's glow, practically tackling Len to the ground again in her eagerness.

"Oof!" Len wheezed out as the girl crushed his midsection in a vicegrip-like hug. "I'll take that as a yes then…"

"Yeah, great, we're all alive for the moment" said Miku, walking into the light herself. "But I'd say we've got a bigger problem on our hands right now! I hate to be a buzzkill but it's not like nobody's going to notice a brand new sinkhole where a building used to be, not to mention the explosions! I'm assuming everyone noticed the explosions!"

"Miku…" Luka said, stepping up to put a hand on her student's shoulder. "Give them a minute, they just lost-"

"No, she's right" Rin cut her off. "This place is gonna be crawling with military faster than you can blink. We need to move, preferably somewhere far away from here and in a really quick fashion."

"Yeah, but where do we go?" asked Miku. "We're in the middle of suicide city for Vocaloids right now. There's nowhere above ground that's safe for us."

"We need to get out of Clonderwell" said Len.

Rin spun around, a shocked look in her eyes. "But… what? Len, you can't be serious! This is our home!"

"I know, but what other choice do we have!?" he responded. "It's not safe here anymore!"

"It's not safe _anywhere_ anymore!" Rin countered. "What'll be different anywhere else!? We've always made it before, we'll make it now!"

"Us, maybe. But what about them?" Len gestured behind Rin, Mad swiveled the beam of his flashlight to reveal the terrified faces of a ragtag band of children and adolescents, all of them looking at Rin with desperate expressions. The girl's face paled.

"It's not just us we have to worry about anymore" Len continued softly. "We're responsible for these people, Sis. They all look to us to keep them safe, and you know as well as I do that there's nowhere else in this city where they'll be able to hide. We can't just abandon them."

Rin made a face like she had eaten something rotten. She cast a pleading glance back at her brother, and then swapped her gaze across the assembled faces. A menagerie of misfortune stared back at her, a group of misplaced orphans and cast-outs that had nowhere else to go and no one else to follow but the two young misfits that had kept them safe for months.

Her eyes swept across Miku's face, who gave her a melancholy sort of shrug.

Rin sighed and turned her eyes downwards. She glanced sideways at her brother. "You're right" she said, then clenched her eyes shut. "Dang it, when did everything get so messed up?"

"When a couple of melon fudges decided to take over the country and give us an extra shadow" said Miku, striding forward to place a hand on Rin's shoulder. "Look, this sucks, but you can't quit. A week ago you told me how you kicked ass and took names all summer when you were fighting those U-con guys, right?"

Rin spared her a forlorn glance.

Miku's eyes were earnest. "I told you that if they were going to keep sending them, then you should just keep sending them right back" she continued, holding the younger girl's gaze. "Well… maybe Ruko wasn't your typical run of the mill U-con, but she threatened your friends all the same."

"What are you getting at, Piggy?" asked Rin, clearly not in the mood for Miku's usual brand of logic.

"What I'm getting at is that if someone's gonna send the unreal Slim Shady after us, then what we have to do is make em' regret it. But we can't do that from here anymore. We need to get out, get safe, and get ready, because I'm pretty damn sure we haven't seen the last of her."

Rin looked up into Miku's eyes for a few seconds, a modicum of understanding passing between the two of them. At last, the blonde adolescent gave a grim nod and straightened up.

"Well crap…" she said, looking once more at the collective faces around her before glancing over to lock eyes with her brother. "What the heck are we still doing in this dump, then?"

Len gave her a small smile.

"We've wasted too much time standing around here as it is" Rin continued, turning back to the group at large. "Let's move. Stay low, stay quiet, and stay with the group. Len and I can get us out of here but it's not going to be a walk in the park…"

With a nod to Len the pair of them threaded their way to the head of the group, pulling out their own flashlights to light the way. As one, the unlikely band of refugees made their way off down the tunnel.

~V~

It was several minutes later that, with a dull grinding of metal on pavement, a solitary manhole cover began to shift to the side in the middle of an abandoned alleyway.

Slowly, Rin peeked her eyes over the edge of the new hole, looking around for any sign of danger. Upon seeing none she turned her head and whispered hoarsely into the darkness below her.

"Alright. Looks like the coast is clear, everybody come up."

Pulling herself up into the deserted alley, Rin watched as one by one the rest of their party made their way out of the sewers that they had called home for months.

Miku was the last one up. Shining her flashlight into the tunnel below, Rin checked for any remaining stragglers before pulling the cover back into place with a muffled clanging.

She motioned to her brother, pointing to the far end of the alley. Len nodded, slinking off to check the west exit. Rin pressed herself up against the wall of an adjacent building and crept towards the east.

Coming to a stop the young girl took a slow breath to steady herself before chancing a quick glance around the corner. Whipping her head left then right, she took in the street beyond.

It was deserted. The only sound to be heard was the faint buzzing of street lamps and the constant rumble of the unending drizzle coming down to soak the streets.

She strained her ears, listening for the faintest indication of military presence. Hearing none, she motioned to the rest of the group to huddle up behind her.

"Alright, we're gonna be moving five blocks east" she whispered. "Most of the heat in this area should be back where we came from, but we can't afford to take any chances." She licked her dry lips, turning from one terrified face to the next in succession. "We have to move fast. Keep to the sides of buildings whenever you can and stay as close to Len and I as possible."

On cue, the male sibling himself rejoined the group. "I think we're good. They must be having a fit over those explosions. It looks like none of the patrols are running."

"All the better for us" said Rin. "Alright, on three we go. Ready? One… two…"

The group moved out of the alley in a hurried procession, hunched and walking single file. The twins set a quick pace, darting across the street and into the next alleyway in a matter of seconds.

They didn't stop for breath, however, instead opting to keep moving, heads down and pace quickening. As fast as they ducked between decrepit buildings and burned out shop-fronts they were back out in the open in the next instant. The twins led the group east, heading towards the towering mountains that were all but invisible under the veil of darkness.

The rain continued to fall.

Once or twice Rin paused and held up a hand, listening for some sign that they were not alone, but no soldiers showed themselves or came rushing out from any dark nook. The streets were deserted.

"I don't like this" Miku said, jogging up beside the twins. "It's too quiet out here. Where're all the military dudes that are usually everywhere?"

"My guess would be back at the cave" said Len, not breaking stride. "Between those explosions and what we did at the DVA, they're probably calling for all hands on deck."

"But… isn't that good for us?" asked Miku. "If they're not here then couldn't we just, like, walk right out?"

"Don't count our blessings yet, Piggy" said Rin, her expression steely. "We're not out of the woods…"

She held up a hand as they reached the mouth of a shadowy alleyway, pointing ahead of her with the other. "Crap… case in point…"

Miku followed the gesture and she immediately saw what Rin meant. They had reached the end of their cover, the buildings falling away before them to reveal a bare concrete expanse. Nearly fifty yards directly in front of them lay a gate several hundred feet beyond which was the base of the mountains. Towering chain link fences topped with razor wire extended into the darkness in either direction, undoubtedly winding their way entirely around the Vocaloid quarantine zone.

But what drew Miku's attention the most was what happened to be guarding the gate itself. An armored military jeep flanked by two rifle-toting soldiers barred their exit.

"Aww… poop" Miku said, succinctly echoing the sentiments of the entire group. "What do we do now?"

"Hmm…" Len mused, eyeing the guards carefully. "That's odd… there are usually more of them at these gates. They must have left just a skeleton crew while they sort out the mess we made."

"Two still seems like too many to me" Uta piped up from behind. "Not all of us are super-heroes here…"

"I could probably…" Roger muttered, taking careful aim with pistol suddenly in hand.

"Dad!"

"I was only joking."

"No" said Rin flatly. "No guns. The last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves. If we could somehow take them out without making any noise…"

Suddenly Miku felt a tugging on her sleeve. She looked down. It was Yuki.

"_A Luka napreso." _A look of intense worry was etched across her face.

"Uhh…"

"_A Luka napreso!"_ she said, more insistently.

"That's… uhh… nice?" Miku said awkwardly, not comprehending a word the girl said. She turned around. "Hey, uh… Luka? I think Yuki's trying to tell us something here-"

Luka wasn't there. Miku gritted her teeth.

"Of all the times to have a lameness relapse why would she pick now!?" she muttered under her breath. "Where the hell did she-"

"Look!" one of the teens piped up in an urgent whisper. "On top of that building!"

Following his pointing finger the group turned as one. Miku's jaw dropped.

"Is that…?" Len muttered, squinting through the darkness.

"She's not…" Rin trailed off in disbelief.

"Oh hell yes she is" said Madra gleefully.

As they all beheld the spectacle in awe, Luka could be identified atop a small building just to the north of the gate, completely behind the oblivious soldiers. Her pink hair bobbed up and down as she made her way stealthily forward until she was looking directly down on top of the two men.

All at once she leapt up onto the edge of the roof, her knees bent and poised for action. Without a moment's hesitation she jumped off, sailing gracefully through the air before landing smack dab in the middle of the pair.

They registered only a moment's confusion before, with two brief pink flashes, both men toppled to the ground unconscious.

Luka straightened up, throwing a meaningful glance in their direction.

"Well…" said Len, his mouth hanging open.

"Yeah…" muttered Miku in a similar tone of disbelief.

"I guess that's one way to do it…" said Rin, her eyes wide. Shaking her head she turned around to beckon to the rest of the group. "Whatever. The guards are down. Now's our chance! Follow me!"

Rin half jogged, half ran from the cover of the alley, the other assembled would-be escapees right on her heels.

Luka waved them over, standing triumphantly over the unconscious forms of the two soldiers.

"Not too shabby, Pinks!" Rin yelled ahead. "I definitely wasn't expecting you to-"

A sudden gunshot shattered the silence.

"AUUGHHH!" Rin screamed and collapsed to the ground, clutching a bleeding hole in her left arm. She thrashed around, writhing in agony.

Several more shots rang out and suddenly everything descended into chaos.

Rin twisted around. All around her was screaming and running. Her arm felt as though it were on fire. Her teeth ground together as the intense pain nearly caused her to void the contents of her stomach. Clutching her hand over the wound she cast about wildly, looking for the source of the gunfire through the dark and the rain.

Luka spotted him first. A third soldier, crouched in a shaded alcove to their north, was aiming down his sight at the fleeing figures of children and adults alike.

With a blinding pink flash and a clap of thunder Luka was upon the man. He didn't even have time to shout before his head cracked viciously against the concrete wall behind him. He collapsed in a heap.

The damage had already been done. "RIN!" Len skidded to a stop next to his sister, throwing himself down to his knees. Upon seeing the blood running down her arm his eyes widened. "Oh geez… oh geez oh man…"

"I'm- hrrktt… I'm good" Rin managed, another stab of pain lancing its way into her muscles. "We need to get out of here now. These guys- augh… these guys won't be the only ones here for very long."

Len nodded in agreement. "Do you think you can stand?"

"It hit me in the arm n-not the leg, dumbo, I think I can… I think… I… I…"

Rin trailed off, her eyes going wide as her gaze went over Len's shoulder. Len frowned, gripping his sister more firmly by the shoulders. "Rin? Rin!? Are you ok? What's wrong!?"

Rin didn't respond. Slowly, one arm hanging uselessly at her side, she pushed past Len, walking forward. Her brother made to protest but the words died on his lips when he saw what Rin was looking at.

Several steps in front of him, Rin stood motionless, looking down at an unmoving figure.

"No…" She slowly sank to her knees, a look of shock on her face. Trembling, she reached out with her uninjured arm, tracing one finger along a young girl's jaw line, her hand pulled back covered in blood that wasn't from the wound in her arm.

Len paced up next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, trying his best not to look. "Rin…" he tried, failed, and started again. "Rin… we have to go. We can't stay here. Come on."

Rin didn't move at all, her eyes transfixed on the body in front of her.

"Oh man, close call, huh? Everyone alright?" Madra's voice broke the silence as he came striding over, a visibly shaken Uta in tow. He frowned as neither twin responded.

"What's the matter, cat got your… oh christ…" he trailed off as his eyes swept over the figure in front of Rin.

"What? What's wrong?" asked Roger, catching up behind him.

"Oh God she's dead!" Uta exclaimed, hands jumping to her mouth as she too noticed. Sarah rushed forward, grabbing ahold of her daughter and shielding her eyes.

"Shit…" said Roger, gritting his teeth.

"Damn! What is it with these people and their guns!?" Miku shouted as she came tromping up with Luka. "If they're not shooting at something then they're not happy. Yo! Blondie! What's the holdup?"

Len turned to stop Miku before it was too late. "Wait, don't-"

"Hey! Did you hear me? We need to move-"

Miku stopped, her mouth working soundlessly for several seconds. She looked down at the motionless figure with a numb expression. With a lost look on her tearstained face, Rin glanced up at her.

"She… she won't get up…" the girl offered lamely.

Several seconds of silence passed, during which Miku's expression changed steadily from one of stunned disbelief to a snarl of barely repressed rage.

"They didn't…" she sputtered, her rage building. "They couldn't…" Her face morphed further as a deep growl started in her throat.

A hand on her shoulder halted the rising tide of her fury. Slowly she turned to look as Luka spoke. Only two words:

"Not now."

Miku's eyes widened, then narrowed on her mentor. Luka's expression was immutable, her muscles relaxed and her breathing calm. When Miku looked into her teacher's eyes, however, she found a mirror of her own.

The fury that danced deep in Luka's soul burned brightly in the resolute gaze she rested on her protege. She was angry, angrier than Miku had ever seen her, and yet she didn't betray an ounce of it.

But for all of Luka's fire, Miku still only felt cold.

"Yeah" she responded, and that was that.

Luka turned to Madra. "Madra, was it? We're going. Kindly grab the girl for me, she doesn't seem keen on moving under her own power any time soon." She gestured towards the shell-shocked figure of Rin, still frozen in place as she stared at the body.

Mad sighed and simply nodded, the time for jokes being long past. "Geez… am I gonna have one hell of a story for Ember when I get back…"

He tromped forward, and with one quick yet gentle motion scooped Rin up off the ground, cradling her in such a way as to not disturb her injured arm. She jolted slightly as he picked her up but made no attempt to stop him, her eyes staring into nothing.

"The rest of you go too" said Luka. "Miku, Len, watch their backs."

The pair nodded. "What about you?" Miku asked.

The sudden malice in Luka's tone sent shivers down both of their spines. "I'm going to give them something else to worry about besides us."

That said, Luka turned walked purposefully towards the untouched armored jeep. Twenty feet away her eyes flashed once and a blast of energy crashed the truck onto its side. Not breaking her stride she waved her hand and the vehicle's gas line severed itself, spilling out a steady stream of pungent liquid.

With a strangled screech of strings she gathered power into her hand and snapped her fingers, sending a small mote of light into the breach. The gasoline immediately ignited into a small blaze, quickly growing to consume the entire underside of the vehicle.

Stopping scant inches from the smoldering automobile Luka glared into the steadily strengthening fire, imagining a shadowy assassin's manic grin amongst the dancing shadows. Her eyes narrowed and began to strobe with power as a single angry tear made its way down her cheek.

"_Tu'o_ _eto_" she snarled.

Miku gasped as a staggering blast of force accompanied by a ground-shaking explosion crashed into her from behind, nearly knocking her off her feet. Spinning around with one hand on the gate her eyes went wide.

The jeep, engulfed in flames and whirling like a top, soared high into the night as if launched from a cannon. With a rippling force that formed large cracks in the concrete beneath her Luka leapt after it, coming up alongside it in seconds. Clasping her hands high above her head her eyes flashed a bright pink and she let out a bellow like an angry bull, bringing her arms down in a vicious arc.

The force of the impact produced another wave of concussive force that sent the entire twirling, blazing mass of the jeep spiraling towards the line of buildings the group had originally exited from. It traced a fiery line through the darkness, streaking downwards like a comet.

When it crashed into the first building the noise alone was enough to shake the ground. The entire front wall of the building collapsed in a cascade of rubble as the jeep plowed its way entirely through the structure and out the back, digging a deep, flaming trench across the street and through the wall of the next row of buildings with a tortured scream of metal and concrete tearing each other to ribbons.

As the vehicle smashed its way through the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street it ruptured a series of pipes running their way beneath the road, filling the air with the sudden hiss of escaping natural gas.

An errant tongue of flame flicked through the air and contacted the source of the leak. The effect was instantaneous: an immense explosion rocked the surrounding area, sending a great burst of flame spiraling into the night sky and reducing what was left of the immediate area to cinders as it set the rest of the surrounding buildings aflame.

Her face a mask of awe , Miku's irises reflected the rapidly growing blaze as Luka fell back to the ground, her knees absorbing the impact with a glimmer.

Her eyes cold, Luka walked slowly forward, stopping above the body of the dead girl. Several seconds passed in silence before she turned her head to look back at the gate, and in that instant Miku understood where Luka had gotten the names given to her.

Against a backdrop of flame, Luka stood as a black phantom, two slits of blazing pink burning like embers in the darkness. Her shoulders hunched, her expression grim, and the results of her fury burning before her she locked eyes with Miku for a split second.

Unconsciously, Miku took a step back in fear at the aura of pure, unadulterated hatred emanating from that one gaze. The eyes that stared back at her were not the calm, collected eyes of her mentor. They were eyes that neither laughed nor smiled, eyes that neither loved nor cared. They were the eyes of a killer, the eyes of a beast...

The eyes of the Legendary Assassin.

Carefully, slowly, Luka bent down and lifted the body of the young girl off the pavement. She cast one look at the carnage in front of her, and a brief, animalistic growl started deep in her throat as she bared her teeth, tears beginning to well in her eyes.

With a snarl, Luka threw back her head and screamed, pouring out her rage to the heavens.

The rain continued to fall.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

The recovery ward was silent save for the soft breathing of its many sleeping occupants. In a cot at the far end of the room lay the ward's newest admittee. In a chair next to said cot sat the ward's most recent discharge, her eyes downcast.

Lily's chest rose and fell as she slept. Her breaths were wheezy and difficult, even in such a relaxed state. Her face bore the bruises and cuts of Tei's assault, her normally beautiful features marred by black and blue.

Teto sat in her chair in the dark without moving, staring forlornly at the sheets on Lily's bed.

With a melancholic sigh she glanced up at the clock. It was the middle of the night. She should have been asleep herself hours ago. Lord knew she needed it after what she'd been through.

_And before what I'm going to go through…_ a little voice in her head told her.

She shuddered, bringing her hands up to rub at her tired eyes. When had things become so wrong? A little over a week ago she wouldn't have thought something like this was possible, and now look at her: locked up in a relocation facility and slated for a slew of unknown experiments.

She sighed again. For so long she'd wished that she could be a Vocaloid too, for something to make her special. Now she didn't think there was anything she'd like more than to be able to go back to being just plain old non-Vocaloid Teto.

"This sucks…" she intoned to no one in particular, a slight hitch in her voice.

She thought about Uta. Had it really only been a week since she'd last seen her best friend? To her tense and over-stressed mind it felt more akin to months. What would she be doing right now? Probably going to school and trying to forget about her…

Teto wouldn't blame her for it. It wasn't like Uta was in any sort of position to rescue her anyways. Besides, she'd already put those she cared about through enough pain already.

A glance at at the incapacitated former pop-stars face only served to confirm her feelings. It was ironic, she realized. Not twenty-four hours ago their positions had been reversed. What malign spirit had cursed her that she was doomed to endure such things? Who decided that Teto Kasane hadn't had her fair share of misery?

She didn't know. And no answers were forthcoming in the bruised visage of her slumbering friend. Disgusted with herself, Teto looked away.

It was these powers, she realized, looking down at her hands. The source of all her misery.

She hated it, being a Vocaloid. After so much wishing and hoping and pleading with whatever divine forces may be out there she had actually been granted her wish…

Only she didn't want it anymore.

A grimace made its way onto her face. These powers… they had screwed up her life. If she had never become a Vocaloid she'd still have a home, a best friend…

_A mother…_ that voice whispered. A tear leaked its way out of the corner of Teto's eye but she quickly wiped it away. She had done enough crying already. Still, she sniffled slightly as she sat there in the dark.

Maybe Vocaloidism _was_ a disease after all. It certainly seemed to cause enough problems.

Her thoughts wandered onto Doctor Akita and the supposed "gift" he claimed that she possessed. Teto scowled. How could something so destructive be a gift? The only thing these abilities were was a curse.

…

Then again… he had seemed so… earnest. The way he spoke about her powers with near awe-struck reverence, he hadn't cared about what Teto had done to the soldiers in her home, what she'd caused to happen to those around her. He saw something in her, something amazing.

Teto shook her head. No, no. Lily had told her about the Doctor. He was an evil man who did evil things to good people. She couldn't trust him as far as she could throw him.

But… he hadn't seemed that way.

Looking up at the ceiling Teto recalled the expression on the man's face as he clasped her hands in his and spoke of a bright future to come. So kind, so alive, so… nice.

There hadn't been a lot of 'nice' in Teto's life lately. Her eyes narrowed resolutely.

She didn't want her powers, regardless of what they could do. They were a weapon in her hands, nothing more than a destructive force that could only hurt. But in the hands of someone else? Someone who knew what to do and had the means to do it? Maybe, just maybe...

If these powers were her gift to give then she would gladly give them away. The Doctor could take them for all she cared. Being a Vocaloid had brought her nothing but pain and misfortune. If that man could use her powers to do something good for a change then she was inclined to aid him in any way possible.

Teto couldn't take back the things that had already happened. She couldn't reach into the past and undo the horrible things she'd done, no matter how strongly she wished that she could. If she couldn't do anything good with this so-called 'gift' then let someone else try their hand at it.

A glance at Lily sent a pang of guilt through her. It had been her fault that Lily had been attacked by Tei. It was because she had powers, because she was special.

She had come to realize that being special wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Her expression hardened. She'd tell Lily in the morning, but she swore to herself then and there. No one would ever be hurt by her abilities ever again. She'd rather die than use them anymore, and if that was what it took, well…

The world would be better off without her in it anyways.

Her mind made up, Teto continued brooding into the sheets of the bed in front of her. It was only a scant few minutes later that her thoughts carried her into an uncomfortable and fitful sleep.

As the clock ticked and the room rustled with the little sounds of night time, a pair of ruby eyes stared from the shadow of the hallway door, locked onto the form of the young girl. They narrowed slightly in anger before finally slipping out of sight, the door sliding shut with nary a whisper.

The owner of the crimson orbs let out a barely audible feline growl as she slinked away.

"You won't steal him from me, Teto Kasane" Tei breathed to herself. "No one will."

And then the ward was silent once more.

*********************************Vocal Vision***********************************

Rin Kagamine sat silently, eyes thin and unfocused as they stared ahead into nothing.

"Nngh..." She winced, fidgeting slightly as Luka dabbed at the bullet wound in her arm with a piece of cloth.

"Hold still" said Luka. "I have to finish cleaning this."

With a sigh Rin gritted her teeth and willed herself to keep from moving. She glanced up, catching a brief view of the sky, the very first hints of light beginning to illuminate the impenetrable cloud cover.

The group had retreated to the tree line at the base of the mountain before penetrating several hundred feet into the sparse woods that occupied the lower slopes. The flickering light from Clonderwell's burning southern district painted a background of reds and oranges against the early morning gloom.

A pall of melancholy hung heavily over the scene. No one spoke, the sound of rain on leaves and the just-audible blare of sirens the only thing to disrupt the silence. Finally, someone spoke.

"So what's it look like?" Miku asked, standing several feet away with her arms crossed.

"Not good" Luka replied as she leaned back slightly. A bloody hole was visible in Rin's arm just above the elbow. "I don't have the necessary skill to treat this. Even if I did, we haven't even rudimentary first aid supplies. This wound needs to be sterilized and the bullet removed." She looked up at Rin. "We're lucky that it missed your elbow and didn't shatter anything, but you need to see a real doctor, and soon."

"Why can't you just fix it like you did when my nose got broken?" Miku asked, remembering how Luka had healed her after that man had smashed her face into the ground shortly after they first met.

"You nose wasn't broken" Luka said. "You just ruptured a blood vessel. All I did was stop the bleeding and put it back in place, your body did the rest. This is different. The damage is far too extensive to just mend with a bit of energy." She stood up, wiping some of Rin's blood off on her skirt. "We need to get you to a hospital."

"In case you haven't noticed, Pinky, we can't exactly do that" said Rin. Her voice lacked its usual teasing tone. "I'm a Vocaloid. It's not like we can just cart me into an emergency room and expect them to welcome us with open arms."

"I'm aware of that" Luka said. "Even so…"

"Grrr… dammit" Miku spat, driving one fist into the bark of a nearby tree. "We should never have tried that. We should have just… I don't know, relocated or something. This is all my fault, opening my big mouth back there in the tunnel."

"Oh, shut up Piggy" said Rin with a half-hearted roll of her eyes. "This wasn't anybody's fault. If anything you're more right now than ever."

"I don't see how" Miku said, pointing one finger in the direction they'd come from. "Right now all we've got is a dead girl who didn't deserve what happened to her and nothing to show for it!"

"Jaynie."

"Huh?"

"Her name was jaynie" Rin said, her eyes downcast. "I barely even knew her. We found her about a week after the barricades first went up, half-starved and about ready to give it all up. Her parents got killed in the raids, so we took her in. I can count the times we spoke on one hand."

Rin looked up, and there was a fierce look in her eyes as tears started to well up. "But dang it she was my friend! She wasn't just some innocent life. There've been more 'innocent lives' lost than I can count since this whole thing started. And that's why we have to keep going."

Here Rin took a few steps forward, looking Miku in the eye.

"I don't know even a fraction of the people who've died so far, but someone did. They all had friends and families who are feeling the exact same thing that we are right now. If we don't do something about it, then it's just going to keep happening. And who's next? Me? Len? They already almost got Yuki."

Rin's brow creased into a resolute frown.

"No. I'm not going to let that happen. You said that we should make them pay for what they did, and you were right. Not just for our sake, but for everybody. They crossed the line. They came to _our_ city and destroyed _our_ home. I say we return the favor."

The young girl turned to Luka. "Come on, don't tell me you don't want exactly the same thing, Pinky."

Luka's eyes darkened, a hint of the rage that had shown itself earlier bubbling to the surface. "I… will not say that you're wrong."

"And what about you, blueberry head?" said Rin, looking at Miku. "Nothing's changed, has it? Your friend is still out there somewhere. Aren't you still going to rescue her?"

"Of course! But that doesn't mean I want people to die in the process!" said Miku forcefully.

"Then let's make sure no one else does, yeah?" Rin said, her expression hard. "We'll hit em' hard, and keep hitting. I don't know about you, but I've seen enough friends die for one day."

Miku was silent in the wake of Rin's impassioned words. Tentatively, she met Rin's gaze. She was unsure for but a moment, however, as she saw the conviction in the young girl's face. That look was one she could relate to. It was one of determination to protect those one held dear. Where would Miku be without that spark, that purpose?

Probably dead, she decided.

So it was with a resolute nod and a firm expression that Miku locked eyes with Rin and spoke.

"Alright then" she said, fire in her voice. "Where do we start?"

"I've got absolutely no idea." Rin smirked. "But I'm sure we'll think of something."

"We might be able to help with that, actually" came a voice followed by footfalls coming out of the surrounding foliage.

"Len!" said Rin, turning to greet her brother, who was accompanied by both Mad and Roger as he stepped through a low clump of fern. "Where have you been? What-" she stopped short as she noticed the dirt covering all three individuals' hands and clothing. It was obvious what grim task they had just accomplished.

"Oh" said Rin, her tone subdued. "So she's…"

"Resting peacefully" Roger replied solemnly as Rin trailed off. "We were as respectful as possible, given the circumstances." He cast his eyes down, unable to meet her gaze.

An awkward silence passed over the group as they all let the implications wash over them. Finally, Len spoke.

"Anyways, we've… been talking."

"No, _we've_ been listening" said Roger, indicating himself and Len. He cast a sideways glance at Mad. " This windbag is the one who's been flapping his gums." He narrowed his eyes. "And as usual he hasn't listened to a single word that's come out of his own mouth."

"What my esteemed colleague is trying to say…" interrupted Mad, sliding in front of Roger, "is that I have a proposition for all of you." His mouth curved upward in a grin. "If you're willing to hear me out."

"We're listening" said Luka before either Miku or RIn could utter a word.

Mad smirked. "I thought you might feel that way" he said, grin growing wider. "In light of… recent events it would seem the lot of you have been left without a ton of options as to what to do from here. As luck would have it our little quartet, that is to say Rocky's family along with yours truly, already have a destination in mind."

"The so-called 'APPEND' you mentioned earlier, I presume?" asked Luka, raising an eyebrow.

"You catch on quick" replied Mad, still grinning. "Now I don't know any of you from Adam, but it would appear that we may have a… shall we say 'mutually beneficial' opportunity on our hands. We're headed for somewhere that's far away from Clonder-not-so-well and you all are conveniently without any better options than to come with us."

Luka was silent, seeming to mull over Mad's words in her head as she examined him closely. "And I'm guessing you'll want some sort of compensation in return for taking us there?"

"Hey, hey" said Mad, holding his hands up. "Who said anything about compensation? This is just me doing something for you guys out of the goodness of my heart." He grinned predatorily. "Though if you're offering I certainly wouldn't say no to any sort of 'compensation' you might have in mind." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Luka narrowed her eyes in suspicion. In her experience it wasn't often that someone offered something for free. "Nothing? You're sure?" she asked, eyeing him warily.

"Scout's honor" said Mad, striking up a mock salute. His eyes gleamed slightly. "Besides, I've got a hunch that you being there will be compensation enough."

The way he grinned while saying that put Luka on edge, but she couldn't see any other options open to them than to go with him. They had been left with woefully few choices as to what to do next. Besides the military they had a very dangerous, very skilled, and very angry professional assassin after them that somehow seemed to be able to track them wherever they went. The safest place was among allies in a time like this, yet she couldn't exactly place Madra's intentions.

Sensing her reluctance, Madra played his ace in the hole. "You'd really be doing yourselves a favor" he said, idly examining the fingernails of his left hand. "Who knows, you might even get the chance to track down Ruko…" He cast a sideways glance behind Luka's back at the two teenagers.

"Deal" Miku and Rin said simultaneously, eyes smoldering.

"Excellent" said Mad, grinning anew as he locked eyes with Luka, who returned the gaze with trepidation. "Then if we're all in agreement I'd suggest that you follow me. We've got to get out of the city before dawn if we want to have a chance of staying undetected, and as luck would have it, I've got just the way to do it."

"The way to get us all killed, you mean" said Roger, frowning at him.

"Hmm… maybe" said Mad, shrugging as he turned and started to walk back down the hill. He flashed his friend a roguish smile. "But it'll be one hell of a ride, regardless."

With those not necessarily confidence-instilling words Mad was off down the hill with a chuckle, headed back towards the flickering blaze they had left behind.

Len cast a glance back at his sister before giving a shrug as if to say _what other choice do we have?_ With a grimace Rin limped after him, leaving Miku and Luka standing alone. The Vocaloid master made to follow.

"You're going to have to tell me eventually"

Luka turned around to see Miku, standing with her arms crossed and fixing her with a dull glare. A moment of silence passed between them.

"I know" Luka responded, a shadow falling over her eyes.

Miku walked forward to stand before Luka directly. Her expression did not waver. "I get that it's a big deal for you, but you can't keep hiding from me forever. If Ruko was telling the truth I need to know what we're going up against, and that means you have to tell me what happened with you and Haku."

"I… I know" Luka repeated lamely, her eyes still downcast.

"You owe it to me after everything we've been through. Whatever it is that you're so afraid of you're going to have to get over it, because I'm sure as hell not going to drag you along behind me."

Miku's tone was harsh, and Luka averted her eyes further as guilt set in. She knew she needed to tell her, and soon, but still… there were skeletons in her closet that she was anything but eager to dredge up."

"I will tell you, I promise" she looked up as she spoke, doing her best to meet her protege's gaze. "I just… need some time. There are things… terrible things…" She shivered from more than just the chill of the rain.

"I'll give you until we get to wherever the hell it is that we're headed to make up your mind, but the clock's ticking Luka." With one last searching look Miku swept past her teacher and jogged down the hill to catch up with the rest of the group.

Luka was left standing alone, shoulders slumped. Her fists clenched and she gritted her teeth as her shirt caught a few drops that had nothing to do with the rain.

Behind her, Clonderwell burned as the faint light of dawn strengthened imperceptibly across the sky. Luka Megurine stood silently as the ghosts of her past swirled around her. Finally, with a low sigh and a long breath out she turned and followed her student down the hill.

And the rain continued to fall.

********************************End of Book Two********************************

First of all let me say thank you to all of my readers who have stuck with me through all of this so far. You really have no idea what an inspiration you all are. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.

In any case, this chapter marks the end of the second book in the Vocal Vision series which I have as of yet left unnamed and will not apply a title to until after the entire story is finished.

On that note, I would like to take a moment to congratulate everyone on making it to the halfway point. If my designs stay as they are now (and I make no promises on that front) the whole tale will encompass no less than four books, each of novel length. Hard to believe it's already been almost three years since I began writing this, but it's been one hell of a ride.

As for why this chapter has taken this long to come out when I promised it back in November… well, first of all you can't rush these things, but that's not really why it took me so unbearably long to just finish the damn thing. I am currently attending university and my classes dominate much of my free time. This obviously cuts into my available writing time more than I would like. Secondly, I took December off to celebrate the holidays with family. It may not be All Splendor's Eve, but our real life holidays are important too.

Lastly, this chapter has given me more trouble than any other I have written thus far. I have revised it no less than 4 times and I cycled through several different versions of events (one of them being where Yuki actually did die). I wanted to take the necessary amount of time to ensure that the climax of this book was the best it could be and I do believe I have hit pretty close to the mark, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

My last bit of news is concerning my update schedule is a bit of a downer, but bear with me here. It's no secret that I've improved greatly since I began this journey. My writing now is so far removed from the drivel I started out with that it causes me physical pain to go back and read some of the cringe-worthy things I wrote in the early going. As such, I have come to a decision.

The early parts of this story, namely everything up to and including chapter nine, is in no way shape or form up to my current standards of writing. I was still working out all of my character's personalities and quirks at the time and they simply aren't what I envision them as.

One of you told me in a review that one mark of a good author is that if you can take away all of the descriptive text in a story and still follow who's talking, you're doing something right. This most definitely is not the case in the aforementioned chapters.

I therefore would like to take this opportunity to announce that Vocal Vision will be going on a short hiatus while I go back and fine tune these chapters to be something a little more readable. I promise that it won't take too long and that it'll be well worth it, so please bear with me. The story won't be changing, just the way in which it's presented.

So… that's it then. For now, I am incredibly tired and happy that I've finally gotten this thing out of my head and onto paper and so I'm going to forego my usual lesson in Lucentian and music recommendations in favor of just posting this up right now for all of you to enjoy.

I'd like to thank my editor for his input on this chapter. Your suggestions help so much more than you give yourself credit for, my friend. Also, I feel a personal need to refer to a specific review I received from a person by the name of Mir.

Dear Mir,

Your review was the best I've ever received. Knowing that I managed to bring so much joy to someone just by putting words on a page nearly brought me to tears. I thank you for your input and interest, and I apologize wholeheartedly for the incredible wait I've put you through. I hope the finished product is to your liking and I look forward to hearing your response.

Sincerely, AnarchySong

With all of that out of the way, I do believe it's time that I said goodbye for the time being. Don't worry, I'll never be too far away from my keyboard. Know that I am constantly (and I do mean constantly) thinking about where to take this story next. Happy reading, and I'll see you all again soon.

AnarchySong, signing off!


	22. Head for the Ocean! A City Left Behind!

I do not own Vocaloid or any of the properties thereof. Miku Hatsune and other characters are the property of their respective owners.

…but the story is totally mine.

********************************Chapter 22***********************************

That morning had been an… unusual one for the soldiers stationed in Clonderwell. The rain, well… ok, maybe the rain wasn't all that unusual. A tad unseasonal perhaps but a little moisture never hurt anyone. It _had_ been a while since it had let up, though…

It was still falling.

No, the morning's unusual events had carried over from the previous evening. Someone (or several someones, as seemed to be the popular opinion) had somehow broken into the DVA center downtown, trashed the director's office, and then vanished without a trace.

The only witness was an incredibly disgruntled secretary whose sour mood was made no better when armed men decided to show up at her doorstep in the wee hours of that blustery September day.

Folks from all over the city were reporting some sort of impossibly bright flash of light, as if someone had decided to take several hundred fireworks and light them off all at once.

Those close to the crime scene had reported a fair bit of shouting and screaming as well. One man (whose credibility was incredibly suspect) swore up and down that he had seen not one but two women plunge to the street below from an eighth story window and live not five minutes apart from each other.

All in all it had city law enforcement and soldiers alike scratching their heads. None were more confused than the director of the DVA himself, who claimed that he had realized that his access card was missing only several hours after being mugged by a pair of curiously strong teenagers.

And as if a high-profile break-in weren't enough, that had only been the beginning. An explosion underground in the south district had collapsed a building as well as caved in a good portion of the street. A natural gas line had ignited when it had been exposed and subsequently set alight by…

...a flaming airborne automobile?

Someone had decided to have a bit of fun with the reports, surely.

Now, in the barely noticeable light of pre-dawn, Clonderwell's southern sprawl was burning and no one had a clear picture of how it had happened.

No one, that is, except a lone shadowy figure seated unseen on a rooftop from which the blaze was discernible only as a faint, far away glow.

The light of a cell phone illuminated a bruised and battered face, one eye clenched shut and the other full of rage. She winced as she raised the device to her ear.

One ring, two…

"_Yes?"_

Ruko's one good eye narrowed. "We've got a problem."

*********************************Vocal Vision*********************************

It was silent, a fact for which the two soldiers stationed near their transport were grateful. Neither had gotten a wink of sleep the entire night, and to say that they were tired of the crackle of radio static would have been an understatement.

Still, both considered themselves lucky. They had managed to avoid direct involvement with the previous night's events by virtue of being assigned to vocaloid relocation duty, a task which had grown considerably less strenuous over the past week as almost all of the city's vocaloids were no longer present.

It was nearly dawn, and would have been already save for the mountains blocking most of the light. As it were, only the barest hint of luminescence stained the clouds overhead.

One of their radios crackled to life with a buzz: "Delta five. Come in delta five."

With a knowing look at one another the soldier unclipped his radio and raised it to his mouth.

"This is Delta Five. Go ahead."

"Delta five what is your status?"

The soldier sighed and rolled his eyes. "Delta five reports no suspicious activity, over."

"Just like the twenty other times you've asked in the past three hours" the other soldier muttered under his breath, earning a chuckle from his partner.

"Very good. Maintain your position." The radio went silent.

"Not like we've got anything better to do" sighed the man as he clipped the radio back onto his belt. "Geez, everybody's freaking out over this. What the hell happened anyways? I haven't been able to get a straight answer out of anyone."

"Some sort of explosion, I guess" replied his partner, leaning back against their truck. "Something about the DVA too. A break-in or some shit."

"Who the hell would want to break in there?" said the first man. "What would they steal? Paper? Quarterly reports?"

"Just because you're incapable of thinking like a criminal doesn't mean others are" said the second man with a chuckle. "Anything beyond 'hold your gun and stand there' is too much for you."

"Yeah, but at least I've got my devilish good looks" retorted the first man, chuckling along.

Silence descended once more on the two men as they stood in the almost-darkness. One of them spoke again.

"But seriously, man. What d'you think that explosion was?"

"I don't know. Collapsed most of a block from what I hear."

"Terrorist attack?"

The man rolled his eyes. "In the middle of the ass-end of the city? I'm sure. Real terrifying. I'm so scared."

"You should be."

With a pink flash and a clap of thunder a woman appeared between them. Before either man could so much as blink Luka's arms went out to either side, grasping onto both men's heads.

Their skulls made dull thunks as they impacted against the side of their vocaloid transport. Both soldiers slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Mornin' gents!" said Mad, striding into the midst of Luka and her erstwhile targets. He picked up both of the men's rifles. "Hope you don't mind if we borrow your truck."

The men said nothing.

"What's that? Take it and do whatever you please? And your guns as well?" he intoned, cocking his head towards the unconscious pair. Both rifles disappeared in a purple flash, dissolving into twin piles of dust. Mad winked at Luka. "What a pair of stand-up guys, am I right?"

"Oh yeah, real grade-A fellas we got here" Uta deadpanned, leaning against a nearby building for support. She shot a glare at Mad. "You suck. Both in the sense that you 'borrowing' my energy is getting way too common and in the sense that you just generally suck."

"I'll have to agree with my daughter's assessment" Roger added, walking up beside her. "This 'plan' of yours is gathering stupidity by the second."

"Oh come now, dear" Sarah purred, resting a hand on Roger's shoulder. "I'd say Madra is quite right. These soldiers are an absolute delight. The nicest I've met so far on our trip."

One of the men groaned. Mad kicked him in the head.

"See? Perfect gentlemen."

"Can we just get on the truck already?" Miku said impatiently, brushing past all three members of the Utane family. She pointed at Mad. "You're the fake soldier, right? Great, I'm so psyched about our chances now."

"Hey, of all of us here only Rocky and I have actually been soldiers."

"By the second…" Roger muttered under his breath. He spoke louder. "Fake soldier? When were you planning on telling me that you were doing this?"

"He wasn't" Rin said simply, walking up to stand beside Miku. She held her injured arm gingerly. "I thought you'd realize sooner."

"Great. And why exactly did you feel it was necessary to tell the teenagers the plan and not me?"

"Because he's a jerk" said Len, patting Roger on the back. "In his defense you probably would have tried to say no if he had." Len paused. "I mean, he wouldn't have cared, but still."

"Can we just get moving?" Miku said exasperatedly. She grabbed the handle on the back doors of the transport and yanked them open. "Come on, everyone in."

One by one the remaining members of the group filed past and climbed into the back of the truck at Miku's instruction. It was a tight fit, but everyone managed to cram themselves in.

Roger sighed deeply, running a hand over his face.

"_Nadesde."_ Roger looked down to see Yuki's smiling face. "_Ve'o secua." _She went to join the others.

"Well at least the girl I can't understand is trying to make me feel better." He sighed again. "Alright, what's the plan. The _actual_ plan this time, please."

Mad rolled his eyes. "Such a stick in the mud." He coughed. "Alright. The 'plan', as it were, is as follows, ahem. "We have managed to commandeer this vehicle from these oh so gracious soldiers here. I will drive-"

"No. There is no way in hell that-"

"Please hold all comments until the end, thank you" said Mad. He cleared his throat again. "As I was saying, Rocky _and_ I will drive this transport up the mountain pass to the military checkpoint. With any luck, we'll be able to pass ourselves off as soldiers relocating a bunch of vocaloids. After that it'll be a straight shot to Soundsmith and relative freedom. Any questions?"

Uta raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"You suck."

"Your concerns are noted" said Mad, with another roll of his eyes. "Now, everyone in the truck." Uta didn't move. "...Please?"

She stared him down for another second before letting out a huff. "Fine."

With the addition of Luka, Miku, Rin, Len, her mother, and herself, Uta had precious little room to breathe as everyone shuffled around to try and make space. Nonetheless, with a bit of elbow grease, Mad was able to shoulder the doors shut and latch them in place.

"Everyone comfy in there?" He asked through the door.

"You suck!" came the slightly muffled reply.

"Excellent. Come on, Rock, we've got a shipment of illegal vocaloids to relocate. Oh! I almost forgot!"

Walking over to the two downed men Mad knelt down and picked up their radio.

"Won't be needing this anymore" he said as the radio, like the rifles before it, dissolved out of his hand in a purple flash. "Thanks again gents!" He winked at Roger. "What did I tell you? Stand-up guys."

*********************************Vocal Vision*********************************

Tap tap tap…

A white boot made uniform little clicks against the tile floor as its wearer tapped her foot impatiently.

Brrrrrrrrrring…

The phone rang again as the person on the other end failed to pick up.

Tick tock tick tock…

A wall clock filled the silent spaces between boot taps and phone rings.

"Come on… come on… pick up already!" muttered an annoyed female voice as she bit her lip in aggravation. A click finally signaled the call going through.

"Howdy, Sweet Ann's Family Restaurant. What can ah do ya' for sugar?"

"Ann!" said Miki, clasping the phone tightly to her ear. "Thank God you finally picked up, I was thinking that they'd gotten to you as well."

"Miki? What're ya' on about? Who's gettin' ta' what now?"

"Oh it was tragic!" Miki lamented, throwing a hand theatrically across her forehead even though there was nobody else in the darkened office to see her. "They were waiting for us. They came by the dozens, by the hundreds! I did all I could do, fought valiantly, but they overpowered me and took my beloved sidekick!"

"Side… kick?"

"Alas it is true! My darling protege has been seized by cruel enemy hands!"

"Protege? What in tarnation are you-"

Suddenly the other side of the call went dead silent. Miki pressed the phone harder against her ear, wondering if somehow the conversation had been dropped. For several moments all she could hear from Ann's end was increasingly heavy breathing. Eventually, the restaurant owner spoke again, her voice a forced calm.

"Miki… did ya'll let Gumi get caught?" there was no emotion in the woman's voice.

In spite of herself Miki felt a shiver pass up and down her spine. "A-as I said, I did all I possibly could to-"

"That ain't what ah asked, sugar" Ann interrupted her. "Did ya' or did ya' not let a bunch of soldiers haul that sweet little girl off to who knows where?"

Miki scoffed. "Of course not! I know exactly where they took her!"

A moment of silence, and then...

The stream of expletives that issued from the phone in Miki's hand nearly blew the star-clad woman off her feet, a typhoon of pure profanity so violent that Miki could do nothing but clasp tightly to the nearest piece of office furniture and pray that it might end soon.

"AH CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT AH AM HEARIN'!" Ann practically screeched. "OF ALL THE DAD-GUM FOOL IDEAS THAT YA'LL COULD HAVE TRIED!"

Miki cowered against the desk she was holding onto, afraid that the woman might somehow come through the phone herself.

"I warned ya'!" Ann continued, shouting loudly enough for the entire restaurant to hear. "I told both of ya'll that this was a damned stupid idea and it was liable ta' get ya' caught or worse! And now look what happened!"

"Ann calm down, please!" Miki said in an urgent whisper, fearful that someone might actually hear the woman's tirade and come to investigate. "Don't worry, I'm going to-"

"Ya'll are going ta' move your ass and get her back, that's what ya'll are goin' ta do!"

"Of course, of course" Miki assured her, casting sideways glances back and forth constantly. "I will do exactly that as soon as possible. I just need to do some... reconnaissance… and we'll be good to go!"

"Reconnaissance nothin'!" Ann bellowed. "Ah don't care about whatever hairbrained scheme ya've cooked up ta' find that Neru woman this time, and ah don't care how close to it ya' think ya' are!" Ya' put that sweet girl in danger and it's time ta' 'fess up!"

Miki grit her teeth. "Ann, you know I can't just stop looking for-"

"Ya' can and ya' will!" Ann cut her off. "Ah'll be damned if ah let ya' put yer' fool vendetta before the life of that girl! Ya'll are goin' ta' stop lookin' right now and-"

"I WILL NEVER STOP LOOKING!" Miki suddenly bellowed, and line went completely silent for a moment. Her voice was totally devoid of any of its usual mannerisms, replaced by a cold seriousness. "I will never quit searching for that… that… _demon_ that killed everything I love! I don't intend to let Gumi die here, and I _will_ get her back, but don't you dare for one second tell me that I am going to stop trying to find Neru Akita."

Ann said nothing for several seconds, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "Miki… that was ten years ago. Ya'll are gonna' have ta' let it go someday."

"I'll let it go when she's dead" came the star-clad woman's reply. "I'll get Gumi back, wait for my call."

With that she slammed the phone back on the receiver, bringing the call to an abrupt end. Silence reigned once again in the darkened office.

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock… only the clock spoke now, uninterrupted by boot taps or phone rings.

In the gloom, a few silent tears fell to the floor.

*********************************Vocal Vision*********************************

Gumi Meg- er… Sonika felt…

Strangely peaceful, actually.

She lay there, silently staring up at the metal underside of the bunk above her. It was unoccupied. The entire room was, save for her, and while it was considerably more confined than the empty hallways of the rest of the building it nevertheless provided her with the same feeling of being in a very large, very empty place.

It was eerie, in a way. The small room existed off to the side of the chamber in which Kaito kept his workstation.

A workstation which, no matter how much she disliked the man who owned it, she couldn't help but salivate over. Those machines were beautiful.

She sighed. What time was it? It was dark, but that didn't mean much in the absence of windows. Not that it mattered, she didn't feel much like sleeping at the moment anyways.

What little rest she had been able to get had been fitful and short-lived. The cold metal surrounding her was a far cry from the warm safety of Ann's guest bedroom, and she sorely missed the feeling of sunlight filtering in through the curtains.

Still, in spite of of all of this she felt anything but tired. Considering the events of the previous day, she was surprised that she was managing to keep things together so well. If past experience was anything to go by she should have been nothing short of a nervous wreck.

Separated from Miki? Check. Captured and held against her will? Check. Forced to change her name? That one got a check and a frowny face on her mental list.

But at least she still had her goggles. That had to count for something, right?

Not seeing the point of simply laying in bed when sleep was obviously not forthcoming, Gumi swung her legs over the edge of the bunk and planted them on the floor. She immediately regretted this decision as the metal floor felt like ice on her bare feet. She quickly found her shoes.

The bunkroom door squeaked slightly as she cautiously pushed it open, casting a glance out into the room beyond. The lights were likewise off here as well, but the darkness was filled with the hundreds of blinking, beeping lights of the sergeant's computers.

A gust of frigid air slipped in through the crack she had made and she quickly shut the door again. She understood the importance of keeping computers cool, but holy cow that man liked to keep things cold.

She fumbled her hand over the wall next to the door until she found the light switch. Honestly, the room was hardly any better when she could see it.

Aside from the four sets of plain metal bunks lining each wall, there was another door to a small water closet on the opposite side of the room and not much else. Every visible surface was either metal or cement, lending the place a gloomy, utilitarian air.

The room was one of the most dismal places she could recall being in recent memory and that was including her time spent hiding overnight in a bush.

Apparently she was going to be working for the sergeant, but he had been none too informative about when that would happen or what it entailed. "Ugh, what time is it" she wondered again, this time aloud.

"It is nine thirty-two in the morning."

Gumi nearly jumped out of her skin as the robotic voice answered all around her. Letting out a surprised squeak she dove back onto her bunk reflexively.

"Good morning to you as well, Miss Sonika" Mizki said, somehow managing to sound bored despite the nearly toneless quality of her voice. A small camera dropped down from a panel in the ceiling and swiveled around to focus on her.

"G-g-good morning" Gumi stuttered. "You surprised me." She supposed that she should have expected as much, considering what she had witnessed the previous evening.

"A thousand apologies, Miss" droned the robotic voice. Gumi could have sworn she saw the camera lens do an eye roll. "It was not my intention to scare you. I am simply here to inform you that the sergeant requests your presence in the main room at your leisure."

"Y-yeah. Sure. Of course." Gumi replied, glancing around her. Wait a second where were…

"Where are my clothes?"

"Your previous garments were in an unacceptable state of disrepair. I have taken the liberty of disposing of them. You will find new clothing in the restroom as well as a fully stocked closet, courtesy of sergeant Shion."

Well, wasn't that nice of… her? It? Gumi wasn't particularly concerned with assigning a gender to the AI at the moment. "Oh… well… thanks, I think. I didn't think the old ones were too bad but I'm not about to say no to free-"

A thought occurred to her.

"Wait… disposed of…?"

Gumi's eyes widened in alarm and she immediately turned and sprinted the short distance to the bathroom door. That bastard sergeant better not have touched-

Her goggles lay atop a clean and pressed set of camouflage cargo pants and a simple folded gray t-shirt emblazoned with the Air Force logo. She let out the breath she had been holding. The clothes she could deal with, but she would have never forgiven him if he'd done something to her precious headgear.

Gumi was pleasantly surprised upon examining the cargo pants. She still wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of an omnipresent AI being able to observe her every move, but she couldn't deny that she felt a sudden fondness for the machine for providing her with a garment with such a large volume of pocket space.

"Is everything to your liking, Miss Sonika?" the camera asked from the bunkroom.

"Oh! Umm… yes, sorry" Gumi said, shaking off her momentary distraction.

"Very good" continued the machine. "The sergeant encourages you to enjoy the facilities at your discretion. Again, you may join him in the main room when you feel you are ready."

With that the camera retracted into the ceiling, leaving no indication that it had been present in the first place.

_Encourages me to enjoy the facilities, huh?_ Gumi supposed that was just a gentleman's way of telling her to take a shower. She couldn't exactly deny that she needed one. Those days of traveling with Miki had done nothing for her hygiene.

She didn't want to use anything her captor gave her, still feeling very angry at her capture and subsequent imprisonment, even if it was an exceptionally comfortable imprisonment. Still...

It _had_ been a few days since she'd had the luxury…

~V~

If there was one thing that marked the true progress of civilization it was hot water. The ability to simply stand and relax as a constant stream of steamy goodness cascaded over one's body was an experience that separated higher lifeforms from animals, Gumi was certain.

She sighed and let her shoulders slump as the heat worked the tension out of her tired muscles. Her hair hung down wetly in front of her eyes and she made no effort to remove it, choosing instead to rest her forehead against the wall of the shower as the water ran down her back.

Maybe Kaito wasn't such a bad guy after all.

She actually smiled at that thought, ridiculous as it was. Stockholm syndrome at its worst, that's what she had. Turned complacent from just a jet of warm water, who'd have thought?

Her smile faded as the niggling doubts in her mind pushed through and filled her with questions again. Showers and kindness aside, the sergeant obviously had an agenda that he was not sharing with her.

There was something wrong in the way she was being treated. He was almost… nice, in a way. Egotistical and harboring a seriously twisted worldview, sure, but… nice.

She was certain that that wasn't a good combination. He wanted something from her, but she couldn't imagine what.

The jarring temperature change as she stepped out of the stall shocked away any traces of sleep that were still holding on. Goosebumps erupted along her arms, some of which she suspected had nothing to do with being cold.

As she dried herself she thought back to what Kaito had said to her the previous night.

_People no longer wish to know the truth of things. This country, this world would rather turn a blind eye to the suffering of others than have to face reality._

Could that really be true? She had a hard time believing that people had become so morally bankrupt as _that_, but the sergeant had made quite the convincing argument.

Gumi was sure she would never get those disturbing images out of her head. How could she not have known about things like that? How could _everyone_ not have known about things like that?

Kaito claimed that the world was not beyond salvation, even though it was only on the other side of a so-called 'baptism by fire.' She didn't know what that entailed, but she had the most sinister feeling that what she had seen the previous night had only been the beginning.

It turned out that the cargo pants were comfortable as well as functional, a fact which delighted Gumi to no end. If there was one thing she loved more than clothing with lots of pockets it was clothing with pockets that didn't ride up in awkward areas.

The shirt was slightly more form-fitting than she was used to, but it was hardly uncomfortable. The way it hugged her chest made her a bit self-conscious, but it was nothing that she couldn't manage. Indeed, she supposed that for air force engineers clothing like this was beneficial. The tighter it was the less likely it would get caught in some machine or other.

Acceptable clothing or no, she knew that she was only delaying the inevitable. She couldn't spend the rest of her life in the restroom.

Walking back to her bunk she cast a sidelong glance at the door. She knew that just beyond was the man who held her prisoner. But beyond it was a chance as well. A chance, however slim, that she might one day again see her best friend. She knew that she could reach her. She knew that she was out there somewhere, fighting for her.

She glared at the door, and imagined that she glared at the man behind it as she did so. She would fight too. Miku would never give up, and she couldn't either.

Sure, the situation wasn't the greatest… for either of them. Miku never let that bother her. She would just grit her teeth and start swinging until she'd solved the problem.

Gumi smiled in spite of herself. She could sure use a bit of that Miku-ish spirit right about now.

Taking a breath to steady herself Gumi slung her towel over the top bunk, fastened her goggles in place, and walked over to the door.

Grasping the handle with a silent prayer, she turned, pulled, and took a step out into the frigid room beyond.

********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

The Vocaloid relocation vehicle jumped and shook as it made its way up the mountain pass on the eastern side of Clonderwell City.

It became lighter the higher they went as the mountain's shadow fought a gradually losing battle with the growing light of dawn. The two drivers caught occasional glimpses of the Clonder River as it snaked its way through the trees back the way they had one had listened closely, they might have heard the faintest and strangest sounds coming from the rear of the transport. Thankfully, the other vehicles passing the armored truck paid it little mind as they drove towards the city.

"This sucks. This truck sucks. Everything sucks." Said Uta as she struggled to move someone's elbow out of her abdomen. "You suck in particular!" she yelled towards the grating separating the cab from from the transport hold.

"What's that?" Mad asked back. "I couldn't quite hear you over the sound of me not being cramped up here."

Uta's growl of agitation was less like a sound of annoyance and more akin to a grizzly bear who had been denied a meal.

"If I could move I would come up there and strangle you!"

"Get in line" said Roger from the other seat in the cab. Both he and Mad wore the uniforms of the the soldiers Luka had incapacitated, and the fact that the pants were a size too small was doing nothing for his already foul mood.

"Don't worry, Sweetie" said Sarah, shifting to allow herself to wrap her arms around Uta from behind. "This way you get to spend time with me."

"Mom, I really don't think now is the time for a mother-daughter bonding session."

"Yeah, well at least your mom is managing to look on the bright side of all of this" said Rin, her speech broken and halting as she winced constantly. "Then again she doesn't have to deal with a bullet wound bumping into the wall over and over again."

"You mean like this?"

"OUCH! GAH! Piggy I am going to force feed you your own hair when I get my hands on you!"

On the other side of the truck Luka said nothing, opting instead to let the two girls duke it out for once as she stared downcast into the metal walls of the vehicle.

"As deliciously stringy and blue-flavored as I'm sure that would be you might want to reschedule" said Mad, turning his head to address the occupants of the transport. "We're coming up on our little checkpoint and I'm pretty sure hair-eating isn't standard military procedure."

That statement got the collective attention of everyone in the truck both for the intriguing mental image it presented and for the fact that they were about to be intensely scrutinized by men who could end their lives if something went wrong.

"Alright, Rock we're gonna do this just like that one time in Poland."

"We've never been to Poland."

"I was talking about the strip club, not the country. You remember, Pole-land?"

"A strip club you say?" said Sarah, a dangerous tone in her voice. "Funny, I don't think I've ever heard that particular story."

"Not the time, honey" said Roger, clearly on edge.

"Yeah, 'the time is now', the Madra says, to talk of many things" said Mad. "Of ships and shoes and sealing wax; of cabbages and kings… and about how all of you should really keep your mouths shut if you want to live through this."

That put an abrupt end to the chatter as the transport rolled up and pulled over to the small military kiosk currently housing two very perplexed-looking soldiers.

Mad and Roger stepped out of the truck, and were immediately held up by the two personnel exiting the building.

"Stop! What's going on here?" queried one of the men. "We were told explicitly that there would be no Vocaloid transports coming through today."

Mad didn't miss a beat. In perfect imitation of the soldier's agitation he replied: "Yeah? And how do you think we feel? I thought it was gonna be an easy shift for once but noooooo… some renegade Vocaloids have to go and ruin my day by sacking the DVA and blowing up half the quarantine zone."

He approached one of the men, who seemed at a loss. "Do you have any idea the night I've had? Huh? I've been on patrol since 0200 hours this morning when I got pulled out of bed by a call that made no damn sense and then stuck on guard duty for this transport after being told that there would be no transports today. No shit they _said_ there'd be no transports today. Since when does what command says mean shit?"

He let out a theatrical sigh and threw his hands up. "Another patrol shows up three hours later with the biggest relocation group I've seen in weeks and dumps it on us. I'm about ready to tell command to stuff it up their ass!"

The two men seemed to be at a loss before Mad's apparent fit of anger. One of them feebly asked: "Why didn't you radio ahead to notify?"

"I would have loved to. But _someone_…" here he cast a glower at Roger. "Let one of the little shitheads slip their bonds and they freakin' _vaporized_ our radios. God damn sound slingers. Freaks of nature, all of em'!"

Mad leveled a withering glance at one of the men.

"I take it you heard the death report from earlier? Teenager? Died near the east gate around 0530, single gunshot wound to the head?" Mad asked, not breaking eye contact. The soldier nodded meekly. "That'd be us."

By this point the two men were completely baffled. Orders or no, they couldn't deny the evidence that their eyes presented to them. "Well then… let's uh… let's get you processed then."

"Yeah, you damn well better" said Mad. "Sooner we get through this the sooner I get back to sleep."

"I'll need to radio this in" said one of the soldiers.

"Yeah, and I'm sure they'll be wanting to chew my head off when you do. Goddam perfect…" Mad sighed. He looked at the other man. "And I suppose there's no chance of skipping the inspection?"

The other soldier shook his head. "Sorry. That'd just be even more trouble."

"Don't I know it… shit… Well whatever, let's get it over with." He snapped his fingers at Roger. "Yo numbskull. Go help him. And this time pay attention shit-for-brains!"

Mad caught Roger's eye as he spoke, giving a tiny, almost imperceptible incline of the head towards the soldier walking towards the back of the transport.

Roger nodded wordlessly and accompanied the man around back of the the truck while Mad led the other soldier away towards the kiosk.

"Craziest night I can remember, I'll tell you what" Mad continued as he entered the small building. The room was sparsely furnished with two chairs positioned in front of a few monitors displaying the immediate area. A radio box sat near the monitors, currently playing table to two coffee mugs in various states of consumption.

"It's been going that way since the relocations" said the soldier. "But you shouldn't blame it on the Vocaloids. They aren't monsters, they're people, no matter what the higher-ups say."

Mad's face displayed a split second of shock at that comment. It only remained for a moment, however, before he covered it up again.

"So you don't think those freaks deserve to be locked up?"

Even facing away from him, Mad could tell the soldier was frowning. "No. And they aren't freaks either."

Mad sighed. "It's unfortunate that you feel that way."

"Yeah? And why's that?"

"I always hate doing this to the good ones."

"Wh-" was all the soldier got out before Mad's knee drove itself into his kidney from behind. Pivoting quickly, he hooked his arm around the man's neck and dropped to the floor, bringing the soldier with him. The man's head bounced off the concrete with a dull thunk. He didn't move.

Mad climbed back to his feet, brushing himself off. He sighed again.

"This is one messed up world we're living in" he said to no one in particular. Sticking his head out the door he called out:

"Hey Rock! You almost done back there!?"

"I didn't know that a human skull could actually dent one of these, if that answers your question!"

Smirking, Mad turned back into the kiosk.

"Alright, let's see what we can do about throwing them off our trail" he said, looking around the walls. "Video feed… video feed… where's the… aha!"

Spying a thick bundle of cables snaking its way up into the ceiling, Mad stepped over the unconscious body of the soldier and grabbed it in his left hand. He snapped the fingers on his right hand, producing a small purple mote of light in his palm. He frowned.

"Okay, now I know I had more than _that_" he said in annoyance, snapping his fingers again. The mote flared to life as a sizeable purple orb. "That's more like it!"

A quick swipe of the hand later and the monitors cut to nothing but static. Mad repeated the process on the radio box, disintegrating the microphone down to its base. Clenching his fist, the glowing purple orb dispersed with a quiet fizzle.

Mad paused at the door to the kiosk, turning around to cast a sad glance back at the prone form of the incapacitated man.

"Sorry, friend" he said, and there was genuine regret in his voice. "The military needs more guys like you."

"Mad! What's the holdup?!" Roger yelled, already climbing back into the cab of the vehicle.

"Nothing, Rock! I'm on my way!" he yelled back, sparing one last look at the soldier on the floor.

"Just wondering where it all went wrong…"

********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

It was a tad surreal, being asked to run and grab a list of items by your favorite pop idol.

Even moreso when said idol was lying in a cot covered in bandages and bruises, her face so swollen that it was a wonder she could see, and yet somehow was still managing to act like she was the one who was being unreasonable.

Morning had come, earlier for some than for others, but eventually for all. Lily, for her part, had not made a peep for the entire night. Apparently being beaten within an inch of your life had some exhausting side effects.

Teto had not fared so well. It had already been what some would have considered morning when she had finally managed to drift off, and her impromptu wakeup call had come a scant few hours later when Lily, looking adorably embarrassed and sheepish about the whole affair, had gently prodded her for nearly fifteen minutes before finally working up the courage to softly call out her name.

There had been a lot of hem-ing and haw-ing that had left Teto feeling confused until Lily finally handed her a piece of paper which turned out to be a list of… ahem… _items_ that she had been too embarrassed to ask the ward staff to fetch for her.

Teto, of course, was almost too happy to do whatever the bedridden pop star asked of her, feeling entirely responsible for her being bedridden in the first place.

It had not occurred to her that she would be required to fetch the required items from Lily's own room.

She was understandably conflicted. Being given permission to take a self-guided hands-on tour of your musical idol's bedroom was a privilege that many girls her age would almost certainly kill for.

On the other hand Teto wasn't keen on the idea of unnecessarily invading the privacy of the only friend she had managed to make in this terrible place, despite Lily's constant assurances that she wasn't being nosy at all.

The embarrassment on both sides had led to a vicious gambit of back and forth politeness that lasted for nearly an hour, resulting in the most ridiculously tame and unintentional game of one-upsmanship ever played. By the time they had finally managed to satisfactorily avoid any bruised egos or stepped-on toes that were never really a possibility in the first place the orderlies had begun to give them extremely strange looks.

Thus it was that Teto now found herself standing outside the door to the proverbial inner sanctum of fangirl culture, clutching the piece of paper into a crinkled mess and shaking like a leaf.

She had been standing there for nearly five minutes already. There was something about the mere appearance of the door itself that scared her nearly as much as the one to Dr. Akita's office had. She was about to cross the threshold of what many would consider the chance of a lifetime and yet she could hardly bring herself to move.

It was ridiculously silly, she knew. Having been terrified of being dissected and experimented upon only the day before, the simple task of opening a door shouldn't have even registered as a task at all.

She had already unlocked the door minutes ago with the key Lily had given her, and yet she couldn't bring herself to simply open the thing.

The fact didn't escape her that if she continued to stand there staring people would start to notice, and if there was one thing she dearly wished to avoid in this place it was drawing attention to herself. She already had enough unwanted attention in Tei.

It was this thought more than any other that finally prompted her to reach out and grab the knob, turning it far more slowly than any doorknob had business being turned. Carefully, she peaked inside through the meager crack she had managed to create, realizing almost immediately that she hadn't actually accomplished anything as long as the lights were off in the room.

Tremulously she opened the door wider and sidled inside, immediately shutting it behind her and plunging the entire room into complete darkness aside from a thin strip of light from a break in a pair of heavy curtains.

That instantly struck Teto as strange, though she couldn't pinpoint why. It took her a moment to realize that it was because this was the first room she had seen with a window. Granted, the only other rooms she had occupied for any period of time had been the recovery ward and the Doctor's office, and it had been nearly nighttime in the space she had done so, yet it still stuck out to her.

After having been conscious in this place for nearly twenty-four hours it was the first window she had really noticed. She couldn't pinpoint why, but that set her on edge.

She realized that she dearly wished to see the outside.

Teto slowly crossed the room and grasped the curtains. Taking a deep breath she flung them wide.

What she saw took her breath away.

Uta had told her, in great detail, about her family's trip to this place early in the summer. She had described its beauty and natural charm at length, gushing about how amazing everything had been.

Her description had been woefully lacking, Teto decided as she now looked out over the town.

Whatever building she was in, it was positioned at the top of a hill overlooking a small valley. A very small portion of the bottom of the window was blocked by an array of vibrantly colored flowers that were in remarkable condition considering how late in the summer it was. Their presence, obscuring as it was, served only to cast the rest of the view in a border of color.

Just beyond the window was a yard of bright green grass that covered the slowly descending slope. A huge tree, its leaves just beginning to shift to the reds and yellows of autumn, stood sentinel over a small walking path that wound away around the side of the building and out of sight.

Its colors were fading now, but Teto could imagine what it had looked like when Uta had been here, covered in pink blossoms, its petals littering the ground.

Past the tree lay the entirety of Medley's Vale. The sight was amazing. Colors everywhere. Bright reds, blues, yellows, and purples stood in glorious arrangements across the hillside, clustering in house windows and gardens, lending their beauty to the landscape around them.

There were exotic plants of all shapes and sizes growing everywhere. She spotted a few of the plants Uta had mentioned to her, in particular one variety of flowering bush with abnormally large petals. She had been right: they _were_ as big as her head.

Breathtaking as the view was, however, it was marred by one thing: the window itself. Metal wire formed a cross hatch within the glass, reminding Teto that no matter how beautiful the outside may have been, she did not have the luxury of enjoying it.

The thought made her wonder again at what exactly this building's purpose had been prior to the Vocaloid crisis. What sort of facility required wired glass windows? Several windows at her school had been of similar design, but this place really didn't seem like anywhere educational.

Still, the scenery was amazing.

Teto managed a small smile in spite of the reminder of her confinement. Somehow she would get out there again one day, when all of this Vocaloid nonsense was done with…

She would… right?

Shaking herself out of her thoughts she crossed back to the door and flicked on the light switch. The rest of the room came into view, and she was once again struck breathless, if for different reasons.

Posters. Posters everywhere. The wall was painted a soft butter yellow, but one would be hard pressed to notice, covered as it was by innumerable pictures and posters of Lily's various concerts and tours.

Teto recognized a fair number of them, having owned the exact same ones when her house had still been intact.

Looking around, she felt a little odd. From every direction, even the ceiling, Lily's smiling face stared back at her from flyers, posters, promotional materials, concert memorabilia, and all manner of other things featuring the pop star.

Well this was certainly an… interesting development. Still, Lily had the right to decorate however she wanted, and Teto wasn't there to gawk anyways.

Though it was very hard not to, all things considered.

She once again shook herself back to reality and looked down at the by now very wrinkled list in her hand. She set about gathering all of the things Lily had specified, trying her hardest not to be too nosy.

Opening a dresser drawer, Teto grabbed a few changes of clothes and some delicates. She tucked them under one arm and nudged the drawer shut with her foot.

She pushed it a bit too hard. The entire dresser shook from the force, causing a number of picture frames to wobble precariously, and one to fall to the floor altogether.

Praying that she hadn't broken anything Teto quickly picked up the fallen frame, noting with dismay that the drop had loosened the glass and caused the photo inside to slip partially out. Trying desperately to push it back in, Teto stopped short for a moment when she realized what the photograph was of. Carefully pulling it the rest of the way out of the frame, she examined it more closely.

Lily, obviously several years younger, was singing into a microphone in what appeared to be a recording studio, the photo having been taken from the opposite side of the window looking in.

A pair of headphones far too large for her head were clamped over her ears, and though it was hard to tell, Teto thought that Lily looked like she couldn't be happier.

A small note was written on the corner of the photo: "_My first recording! I did it!"_

Teto smiled. Perhaps all of the posters weren't quite as creepy as she had thought. It was Lily's love of music and of her career, not of herself.

She looked around at the room once more. Here was a perfect example of a life drastically altered by the Vocaloid crisis. Lily had been at the height of her career, and now she had nothing. And why? Because some men in suits somewhere decided that she was "dangerous?" It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. No one should have to give up what they love just because someone else told them to.

She would do everything in her power to make sure Lily's time in this terrible place was as good as it could be, Teto decided. She made to slip the photo back into it's frame but stopped as she noticed that there was something else written on the back.

_My dearest Lily,_

_I understand that these recent times must have been troubling for you, successful as your exploits have been as of late. It is truly a shame that such bright talent must be snuffed out, but such is the burden of our time._

_I wish to remind you that my offer is still on the table, and I urge you to reconsider. I could use your help. In the meantime, I have arranged to have you relocated to Medley's Vale when the time comes. I think we can both agree that it is the most appropriate location, for obvious reasons._

_I know you will protest, but please, try to remain calm. We share more than our past. Try to remember that._

_-R_

Teto frowned. She didn't even need to guess who 'R' was. Written across the bottom were the words "DON'T TRUST HIS LIES" in Lily's flowing handwriting. There was only one man who Lily held such sentiments for and Teto had been in his office less than a day ago.

She flipped the picture back over to the front. Obviously, in order to have written that note, the good doctor must have been in possession of this picture at one point or another. How he had gotten ahold of it Teto couldn't begin to fathom, but the idea that the man had mentioned the cancellation of Lily's career on the back of such a happy memory didn't sit well with her.

She read the message again. _My offer is still on the table._ What offer? What could he use her help with? Lily _had_ been his assistant once upon a time. Perhaps he had contacted her to take up the position again? But then what did he need Tei for? Hmm…

Teto didn't know, and it wasn't her place to know either. She shouldn't have ever seen the note in the first place. Obviously, Lily wasn't interested in what the doctor had to say.

Teto only wished she felt the same way.

Rossegar had claimed that Tei had acted on her own when she attacked Lily but Teto wasn't so sure. Would her friend be in this position if she had accepted whatever "offer" the doctor had proposed to her? Teto wanted to believe what the doctor had told her, but another part of her wasn't so sure…

Whatever the case, she had a few things she needed to talk to Lily about. Gathering up the collection of items that Lily had asked her to retrieve, Teto quickly placed the photo back into its frame and set it back up on the dresser.

Flicking the lights off and closing the curtains, Teto locked the door again before slipping out and closing the door with a soft click.

In the darkness, the Lily in the photo continued to sing, her smile just one of many among the collection of memories lining the walls.

********************************Vocal Vision**********************************

"Alright, so, not that I don't just love it when you beat up soldiers or whatever, but why did we even need to stop and beat them up anyways?" asked Uta as the stolen Vocaloid Transport made its way steadily further and further away from Clonderwell. "Couldn't we have just, I don't know, _ignored_ them or something?"

"Well, we _could_ have done that" Mad replied from his place behind the wheel, "but it wouldn't have been a good idea. See, those guys don't have their own truck up there. Guards are driven up to the post morning and evening by a convoy on shift changes. Since we destroyed their radio, the only way they'll be able to get in contact with the guys that could really give us trouble is if they either wait for the morning shift change or walk down the mountain."

"Or if either one has a cell phone, you mean" said Roger, with a roll of his eyes.

"That too, but either way it'll be a lot of time that they don't have. We're already so far ahead that there's no way they'll be able to follow us now."

"Unless this transport has a tracking system, you mean" said Roger.

"Oh ye of little faith" Mad chuckled. "Rock, give me _some_ credit."

Roger gave him a flat stare.

"Oh alright, give Ember some credit at least. Would she really let me out of the house without something for this exact situation?"

"I don't know. I haven't spoken to her in nearly a decade."

"Well the answer is no, she wouldn't" said Mad. "Truth be told, I've got a handy little device that makes me a walking dark spot for communications equipment. I'd love to show you but it's sort of hidden and we're currently in the midst of a lot of female company."

"There's a jammer in your pants, got it" came Uta's voice from the back.

"Exactamundo, little lady" Mad replied without missing a beat. "We're practically invisible to them. And judging by the fact that we've been away from that checkpoint for so long without being followed I'd say we're in the clear."

It was true. The group had left the military checkpoint (with both guards still unconscious) over an hour previously and were now cruising towards the port town of Soundsmith, located on the eastern seaboard.

The drive had been a rather claustrophobic affair, with plenty of limbs falling asleep, stepped on toes, and leg cramps for those who were forced to stand.

"Great. But are we there yet?" Miku deadpanned, clearly fed up with the traveling conditions combined with lack of sleep.

"Ah, the age old question" said Mad. "We are here. But what was here but there a moment ago? And in another moment, we'll be there, but then there will be our new here."

Miku looked a Uta. "You're right, he sucks."

"Now now I was only joking around. In all honesty we should be coming up on Soundsmith any minute now."

True to his word, only minutes later they crested a small hill, rounding a few corners before the trees parted and they were treated to a breathtaking view of the ocean. Roger caught just a glimpse of a sign as they passed:

"_Welcome to Soundsmith! The friendliest…"_

But what exactly it was the friendliest of remained a mystery as they zoomed past and the sign disappeared from view.

The transport descended further towards the sea, buildings beginning to rise up on either side. Soundsmith appeared to be nothing like Clonderwell. The tallest buildings rose only three stories at most, and the entire place had an old city feel to it.

Small shops and oddities lay in every direction. Small colorful windmills and flashy kites were displayed in the fronts of stores alongside more traditional wares. A large sign that looked partially constructed from driftwood (almost certainly an intentional design choice) informed them that the bay area was located down a side street.

Mad turned off onto this road and followed it down even further towards the water. Even from their cramped and dark space the transports occupants caught glimpses of bright blue sky and sapphire waves. They had left the rain on the other side of the mountains.

The closer the group got towards the bay the more people seemed to be about. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes went about their early morning business as ships came into port to stock up for the days work.

A team of men shouted to one another from the rigging of a small fishing vessel as the transport rolled on, pushing past the hustle and bustle and continuing along the water's edge.

Even more shops and stores greeted their eyes as they drove, these ones obviously meant for tourists, mostly advertising custom t-shirts or bumper stickers with the towns name.

The bay was a huge 'U' shape that seemed almost cut into the surrounding landscape and Mad drove them all the way around to the opposite side. There were no shops here, the small storefronts and facades being replaced with enormous metal containers and larger ships meant to carry them. Every hundred feet or so lay a dry dock, many of them occupied.

Further and further they drove into the maze of warehouses and storage units. The buildings were larger here, obviously meant for industrial work. They were made of metal and thick wood and all manner of loud sounds could be heard from inside.

After what seemed like ages, Mad finally parked the truck behind a nondescript building with its back to the water. The bulk of the structure hid the transport from view and Mad wasted no time in throwing the back doors open and ushering everyone out.

"I've never been quite so sympathetic to what a sardine must feel like" said Sarah as Roger helped her down from the back of the transport.

"Nah, sardines have it better" said Rin, her face a mask of constant pain as she cradled her injured arm. "They don't smell half as bad as Piggy over here."

"Keep talking shortstuff" Miku grumbled. "I won't take it easy on you just because of a little war wound."

"Meh, I'd probably still beat the crap out of you."

"Ladies, please" said Len with a roll of his eyes. "I think we have more important things to think about right now."

"Yeah, like where the hell are we?" Uta asked, looking around.

"I'm curious about that myself" Luka agreed. "This doesn't look like any 'secret headquarters' that I would ever imagine."

"And that's why it works so well" said Mad, his trademark grin still present.

Witnessing all of this was a severe looking man wearing the garb of a commercial fisherman. He didn't seem to be doing anything in particular besides standing with his back to a small door smoking a cigarette. If the sight of a large group of children, teenagers, and adults climbing out of the back of a military transport surprised him he certainly didn't show it.

Instead he caught Mad's eye as the screamer led the group towards the door, his grin wider than ever.

"Back so soon?" the man asked with a nonplussed expression.

"You know me" said Mad. "I do love being on time."

"Yeah, well let's hope the boss sees it that way" said the man before he stepped aside and pulled the door open for the strange procession.

Inside the building was dimly lit and sparsely furnished, housing mostly dust as the morning light filtered in through grimy panes of glass near the ceiling. Mad walked with purpose, however, directly to the center of the room before stopping.

"What? Why did we stop? Where the hell are we?" asked Roger, clearly none too happy that they were currently standing in the middle of what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse.

"Just give it a second" Mad replied calmly before stomping on the floor three times.

For several moments nothing happened, the group standing awkwardly in the gloom. Then, with a faint creaking noise, a hatch opened in the floor several feet in front of Mad. Another man peered out at them, taking in Mad with a raised eyebrow.

"Geez, better late than never?" quipped the man. He took a look around at the rest of the assembled group. "Who're all these?"

"Assets" Mad replied simply. Luka frowned at the word but said nothing.

"Well don't just stand there. You won't be doing yourself any favors by keeping the boss waiting any longer than you already have."

Mad chuckled a bit. "Don't I know it." He motioned to the rest of them. "Alright, let's go everyone."

"Great, going underground again" said Uta as she heaved a sigh and made her way towards the hole. "Because that's worked out so well for us so far…"

It took a little bit of time, but everyone eventually managed to make it down the small ladder into the floor. Casting one glance about the room behind them, the man pulled the hatch shut again.

If the room above had been dirty and unkempt the space below was anything but. The walls and floor were made of concrete but they seemed to be very well taken care of, showing hardly any cracks and a noticeable absence of dirt and grime.

Mad didn't seem interested, however, immediately leading them to the side down a gradually sloping hallway that brought them further into the earth. After a hundred feet or so the path flattened out and ended in a door which Mad stopped at.

"Alright, Ember should be in here" he said, turning to Rock. "She'll want to speak to you first."

For some reason Mad looked troubled.

"Just one thing" he said, looking as if he were struggling to find the proper words. "She may be a little… different than you remember."

Roger frowned. "Different how?"

"Well, I mean she doesn't look any different it's more the way that she acts. She _is_ the leader of a group of revolutionaries. The job can be sort of stressful."

"I'm afraid I don't follow."

Mad scratched the back of his head. "She's… it's... " he sighed. "Screw it, you'll find out eventually anyways." With that he pushed open the door.

The group emerged into a large rectangular space that looked more like a storage area that had been converted into a war room. The walls were lined with maps covered in colored pins with a few computer terminals pushed up against the far side. Other doors led to dark hallways that stretched off to who knew where.

The room was mostly dark save for a few cones of light cast by several hanging ceiling lamps. Under one of these up against the wall furthest from them stood a hunched female figure poring over an open folder of documents spread out across a wooden table.

Miku didn't know how or why, but she got the distinct impression that this woman, whoever she was, wasn't the type of person to be trifled with.

The woman either hadn't noticed or hadn't cared that they had entered as she didn't look up from her papers. After several seconds of silence Mad cleared his throat.

The sound had scant time to travel the length of the chamber before an enormous fireball erupted from the opposite end of the room and streaked straight across the space where it impacted into Mad's chest. It then exploded, sending the man flying backwards into a wall where he wheezed slightly, propping himself up with one hand.

"Madra!" shouted the woman, one arm extended behind her. She hadn't even turned around. "Where the fuck have you been!? Do you have any idea how late you are!? And not even a God damn check in!?"

Mad coughed slightly. "Nice to see you too, Ember."

The figure turned, a pair of rusty red eyes glaring behind her just barely illuminated by the dim light. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped up short when she saw Roger. The pearly white glint of a smile was visible even across the room.

"Well I'll be damned…" she muttered. "The mother fucking prodigal son returns…"

Another brilliant burst of flame accompanied the woman literally rocketing across the room to land directly in front of Roger, her grin wider than ever. "And he brought friends."

Roger sighed, then locked eyes with the woman.

"Hello Meiko."

********************************End of Chapter**********************************

Edit 10/19/14 - Uncensored Meiko's dialogue, because it's not like anyone wouldn't know what she was saying anyways.


End file.
